Unexpected Curses
by Chipmunk24797
Summary: The long awaited sequel to Unexpected Bonds! This is the book that is on everyone's mind, read to find out what happens after Deidara confesses and what happens when Orochimaru decides to play against the rules... rated T for a reason ENJOY! XP
1. Reactions

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**I know that you all have given up on thinking that I wouldn't write this book.**_

_**I'm just evil that way… Mwahaha!**_

_**Well, I present to you, what you've all been waiting for…**_

_**The long awaited sequel to Unexpected Bonds!**_

**Chapter 1 - Reactions**

Pein and Konan never expected their love to be found by a certain blonde.

Itachi never expected his emotions to emerge in the presence of the girl.

Kisame never expected his love for nature to be known and accepted by the whole Akatsuki.

Hidan never expected his best friend to gain so many friendships.

Zetsu never expected to be able to trust someone, as much as he trusted Zeotora.

Tobi never expected to feel as much respect towards another person, other than his 'Sempai'.

Kakuzu never expected his heart strings to be pulled in such a short amount of time, or for _those_ three words to be shouted for all to hear.

And Deidara never expected Zeotora to react the way she did.

Zeotora felt her eyes widen and her breath to stop for that moment, when Deidara had confessed his love. Zeotora never really understood emotions, no one had ever loved her beyond simply friendship and family. But even brotherly love came hard to find. That was probably the reason why she held friendship and trust so close to her heart. But Deidara was a whole new story…

First he didn't even want her their, then they got into a fist fight. Then Deidara locked himself in his room, in attempt to escape the girl's presence. And the next morning, Deidara almost broke Zeotora's jaw, on purpose. Then of course Zeotora apologised, lifting the awkwardness slightly. Then Deidara got so pissed off when Zeotora saved him from being splattered all over the ground, not to mention how brutally Deidara threw Zeotora across the forest when she had pretended to join Orochimaru's team. And that only reminded Zeotora of when Deidara blew up a number of his creations in order to kill Zeotora.

Zeotora soon found it hard to pick out more situations of when Deidara had expressed how much he hated her.

Now that Zeotora thought about it, it seemed kinda strange for Deidara to cry over someone he didn't care about, and then Zeotora remembered the look on Deidara's face, when Kakuzu had kissed Zeotora. And the way Deidara and Kakuzu fought for Zeotora, neither one caring about themselves. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered why she hadn't noticed it earlier. Like the time Deidara tried to get Zeotora's attention by embracing her. And the time Deidara admitted that he loved her smile. Or the way he said so tenderly that he was glad to have her back on their side.

Zeotora never was one to understand signs that gave everything away. Either way, Zeotora still didn't even notice the anger in Deidara's eyes when Kakuzu, forcefully, kissed Zeotora in front of everyone. Why didn't Zeotora wonder why Deidara fought Kakuzu? It seemed so obvious to her now, that if Deidara didn't have feelings for Zeotora, he would of just let the two get on with it. Zeotora never thought of Deidara as more than a friend, until that day…

When she had gotten injured and woke up in Deidara's arms as silent tears ran down his cheeks.

A strange sensation ran through Zeotora's body. She didn't even notice herself subconsciously slowing down, to let Deidara catch up with her.

Was it coincidence that made Zeotora's body go numb as Deidara reached out for her hand?

Was it meant to be that Zeotora's eyes began to pulse with that luminous red glow?

Was her vision supposed to blur, until all she could see were Deidara's ocean-blue eyes?

Was she supposed to lose all self control, just as Deidara came into reach?

Was it a normal reaction for Zeotora's head to start to throb?

All Zeotora knew was that, this wasn't good.

Deidara froze. Something wasn't right about Zeotora's sudden halt.

Her hair was suddenly quite wild and messy, and her shoulders relaxed to a sloping position. Zeotora was facing away from Deidara, her arms by her sides and legs slightly apart, making her stance all the more suspicious.

"Zeotora…" Deidara trailed off, Zeotora's silence was giving him an eerie shiver.

Deidara noticed Zeotora's nails grow, they were no longer considered nails… but more like claws. _Oh no. _Was Deidara's only thought as he slowly climbed off of his masterpiece and stood firmly on the ground. The muscles in Zeotora's arms had grown in size and her posture fell down into a slouch. If the young artist was to regret anything, it would be the words he had spoken a few minutes ago. But something… something made him glad he said the words, even though, Zeotora's strange behaviour meant only one thing. And it wasn't the best outcome he could've hoped for.

"Zeotora?" Deidara said gently again, this time Zeotora flinched at her own name being said with such care.

It was probably the strange feeling of someone caring about her, that made her heart pound against her ribcage. Or possibly the feeling of her own body controlling itself. Zeotora turned slowly, her blue eyes meeting with Deidara's, but there was a huge difference in the way Deidara was looking at her.

Confusion, worry, curiosity, shock and… something else. Something Zeotora couldn't quite put her finger on. But it was familiar.

Zeotora had definatly seen that look before, but where?

Deidara took a step forward.

But immediately regretted such an action as Zeotora's clawed hands shot up to grab his shoulders.

Only one thing ran frantically back and forth in Deidara's mind.

The two of them were to far for the rest of the Akatsuki to actually see what was going on, so the only heard Deidara shout his confession, and then silence.

They all stood waiting patiently, waiting for something to happen. None of them knew what Zeotora's reaction would be. All they knew, was that something was going to happen, good or bad? They didn't know.

But Deidara was glad to get it off of his chest.

No matter if Zeotora felt the same or not.

Zeotora's mind was still lost, half way between the past and future, yet no where near the present. Part of her was telling her how stupid she was for not realising the signs Deidara gave so frequently. While another part of her was still trying to process what had just happened. But most of her mind was thinking to the future, thinking how she would go about everything.

Deidara still didn't know about the kiss that Zeotora and Hidan shared.

Deidara still didn't know the reason why Kakuzu had punched Hidan.

Zeotora would have to see the depression on Kakuzu's face, everyday from now on if Zeotora stayed.

How would Hidan react? Zeotora wasn't sure if their kiss meant anything, neither did Hidan.

But either way…

Things weren't going to end well.

Zeotora was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice herself grip Deidara's shoulders tighter. And Deidara didn't even bother trying to escape, he didn't even let out the pain that was building. Deidara could withstand a lot of pain, but usually he would at least try and get away.

Deidara watched as Zeotora's consciousness slowly slipped away, only to be replaced by the demon inside her. Zeotora's eyes were engulfed in that red glow, that burned into Deidara's skin, yet somehow felt icy.

For some reason, Deidara found Zeotora's icy glare comforting. He had gotten used to it, and thought it seemed rather interesting the way she could change her demeanour so easily. It was like art to him.

That icy glare, it appeared so suddenly, then it could disappear just as easily. For the first time, he realised that not all art had to be an explosion, but he also found a new way of describing Zeotora.

Art.

The greatest compliment that Deidara could give, to anyone.

Art.

As he looked into those eyes, he could see himself. His own reflection, shining back at him, his own eyes.

Blood trickled down his back, as Zeotora's claws dug deeper. Deidara maintained his gaze, looked onto Zeotora. Begging for a reaction, a reaction made by Zeotora. Not her demon.

He soon came to the reality that the two-tails wasn't going to let up anytime soon. He came to this conclusion as Zeotora bared her fangs and roared.

Deidara closed his eyes, to block out the sight of Zeotora's fangs coming closer and closer to him…

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Well, what do you think?**_

_**Please review and tell me what you are feeling right now, I want to know how you feel about me writing a sequel.**_

_**And yes, I will be continuing ONLY if you review and ask me to. So, get reviewing!**_

_**I can't wait to read my reviews!**_

_**Until the next chapter…**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	2. Not To Distance Future

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**I couldn't wait any longer, I have this strange habit of writing chapters too soon.**_

_**Thanks for the review.**_

_**I won't keep you waiting any more.**_

_**So… enjoy!**_

**Chapter 2 - Not To Distant Future**

The darkness of the empty night fell down silently over the village that was sound asleep.

The quiet sound of feet running across the pavement, was all that could be heard. The empty streets occupied by only one mysterious person. Wind flowing through crimson red hair, the path ahead being watched by equally red, glowing eyes. A growl passed the lips of the lone Kunoichi, causing a few lights t flick on and curtains to be pulled aside.

Screams of women and children filled the night sky, as a number of men emptied into the streets, surrounding the ninja.

Shotguns, axes, pitchforks, knifes, kunai and shuriken all pointed at the one threat.

The centre of attention, dropped down onto all fours and let out a load roar, to threaten the villagers. Suddenly, the shadow surrounding the Kunoichi, started to pulse. And she became more animal-like.

Screams and cries of the village people were the sounds that filled the demon's ears. Then all fell silent once more. The girl returned to a normal posture, but the glow in her eyes, not even fading. She admired the beautiful colour that now draped over each citizen. The weapons lay bent and broken, not a single one even leaving a scratch.

Picking up a particularly tasty looking woman, the girl sat on top of the roof of a fairly tall building, looking down at the blood-stained street. She ripped apart her prey and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Every so often she would stop to look at her arms, covered in scars that ran deeper than any weapon could ever achieve. The ninja scowled and finished off her food, before jumping down and standing there for a while, letting the blood ease her stress away, as it rippled around her ankles. She took a deep breath through her nose, to inhale the bitter smell of blood, to breath in the taste, the smell… the feeling of death surrounding her, as she stood alone once more.

As she was about to leave, a small, quivering presence caught her attention. She turned to see who or what was sat hidden away behind her.

Sat in the shadows of a small cottage, the door hanging from it's hinges, was a small girl. Only about 4 or 5 years of age. Her face was a pale porcelain, her hair was a fair brown and eyes a shade of dark green that you could only imagine. The street light flickered on and off, the light making the girl's eyes sparkle, almost… twinkle.

But fear stood out among the tears that fell rapidly down her rosy red cheeks.

From the child's point of view, she saw a monster, a tall, slender, beautiful, feminine monster. She could see the glowing of fearsome eyes and the crimson red blood around the monster's mouth, the curiosity on her face.

The flicker of blue that appeared and then disappeared in her eyes. The child could see the demon's hair, it was a light shade of blonde, but it was soaked with blood, making it appear crimson. The 'demon' wore black shorts, black boots, a black top that revealed her stomach and black fingerless gloves, they were all drenched in the blood of the village people. The girl's attention kept being drawn back to the silver pendant that sat around the girl's neck. Unknown curiosity got the better of the girl as she stared at the pendant, she slowly took a step forward, out of the dark.

The ninja kept her guard up, if the girl tried to run, then the Kunoichi would attack. But the girl just took another step forward, she reached out, attempting to touch the pendant that had a Jashin symbol linked onto the end. The Kunoichi didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to attack the young girl. When the child noticed this, she smile dup at the ninja and asked.

"What's your name, pretty lady?"

So many memories shot through the ninja's mind at those words, it had been so long since she had been called a 'pretty lady'. So long since she had someone ask her a question, without fearing her.

The Kunoichi took a breath, as she looked down at the small child, young eyes wide with curiosity, twinkling in the dim light.

"Zeotora Yakushi." She brought her claws through the air, slicing down, straight through the girl. Zeotora sighed as more blood was spilled onto the ground, the innocent eyes, slowly draining of life as they stared up at Zeotora.

She bent down and placed her hand over the girl's eyes, she closed the eyes softly, before standing up again.

"Zeo, you coming?" Zeotora turned as she heard her name being called.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Was her reply.

Kabuto tutted, "Such a shame, she could've lived if she had stayed in the dark." The words fell like daggers, upon the motionless body of the child. "Let's go, Orochimaru will be wondering where we are."

Zeotora nodded her head before running off, her older brother at her side.

* * *

By the time they got back to Orochimaru's lair, it was daylight and both ninja were tired. They were greeted in the usual manner, a light nod of the head or a simple glance. They both made their way to their master's quarters, Zeotora pushed the doors open, and entered the room, her brother in tow.

"Ah, so good to have you back. I thought you ran away again." Orochimaru said with a smirk plastered on his face, "But you wouldn't do that, would you Zeotora?"

Zeotora shook her head, breathing deeply.

"Of course she wouldn't." Kabuto butted in, "Especially after what you did to those poor Akatsuki idiots." Kabuto kept an eye on his sister, looking for any reactions, "Isn't that right, Zeo?"

"Yes Kabuto." Zeotora replied solemnly.

"Now, Zeotora, I've been waiting for you to return." Orochimaru said teasingly, "I think you know why, I need my entertainment."

Zeotora sighed, she hated being used, but she couldn't disobey, not after what Orochimaru had done years ago.

"Yes Master Orochimaru, right away."

Zeotora went to stand by Orochimaru's side, as Kabuto left, closing the doors behind him. That was her queue, Zeotora began singing that one lullaby that Orochimaru loved so much.

She sang with as much effort as possibly, if she didn't she would receive the punishment.

"_Little girl terrified, she'd leave her room if only bruises would heal  
A home is no place to hide, her heart is breaking form the pain that she feels  
Everyday's the same, she fights to find her way  
She hurts, she breaks, she hides and tries to pray  
She wonders why, does anyone ever hear her when she cries?"_

Zeotora sang, as Orochimaru sat in silence listening to the sweet voice of his most prized possession, the only one who doesn't let emotions get in the way of her mission. Orochimaru loved Zeotora's voice, it was probably one of the reasons he actually wanted Zeotora to work for him. Zeotora's voice was going to break any day now, she had been ordered to sing every time she wasn't busy. And recently Orochimaru had got someone else to fill in with her missions just so Zeotora could sing to him.

Maybe it was a comfort thing. Zeotora didn't know, but what she did know was that her voice wasn't going to last much longer.

For some reason, all Zeotora could think about was that one day.

The day that changed everything

The day when her stability failed and Orochimaru lost it.

The day Sasuke finally told Orochimaru what had happened.

The day Orochimaru came up with a plan.

The day that Kabuto got his sister back.

The day the Akatsuki was completely destroyed…

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Well?**_

_**Yeah I know, this one is really confusing, but let me clear some things up.**_

_**1. This chapter is a glance into the future.**_

_**2. Everything is going to go back to normal in the next chapter. And…**_

_**3. If you don't review, then I'm not telling you what happens.**_

_**Oh yeah, and the song is called When she cries by Britt Nicole.**_

_**Oh and, I have the next chapter, held hostage, so get reviewing or I will click the delete button.**_

_**Until the next time…**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	3. Goodbye

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**Didn't I tell you I had this chapter done!**_

_**Well, either way, thanks for the reviews.**_

_**This chapter is back to normal time, so it's just at the end of chapter 1...**_

_**I know it's confusing, but you will understand soon enough.**_

_**Let chapter 3 commence!**_

**Chapter 3 - Goodbye**

Blood splashed to the floor, it also splattered up Zeotora's arm. Drenching her claws and clothes. The scent of death mixed with fresh blood caught Zetsu's nose.

"Master Pein." Zetsu's white side called to the Akatsuki leader.

"Yes, what is it Zetsu?"

"Well." **"Zeotora's gone and killed someone."**

Konan's eyes widened at the statement, she turned to see Pein's reaction. Pein had his hand on his chin and it was obvious he was thinking. He turned and looked around at the members beside him.

"Hmm… let's see…" Pein thought for a minute before saying suddenly, "Itachi! Kisame! Go see what's going on."

Kisame nodded and Itachi just began walking, "Today!" Pein shouted at them, they accepted their orders before running off to fulfil their leader's wishes.

* * *

They didn't have to run for too long until they saw what had caused the commotion, Itachi looked blankly at the blood that covered their ex-comrade while Kisame thought over the situation, a small chuckle escaped his lips and a grin spread across his face.

"I never thought I would see the day that Deidara would be scared." Kisame said, half laughingly.

Deidara was knelt down on his knees, his hands covering his ears and he was slouched over in a defensive position. Deidara was shaking like a leaf, and his eyes were clamped shut, teeth gritted together and heart pounding. Deidara looked at the blood surrounding him, the first thing he noticed was that no damage was done to himself. He loosened his grip on his ears and looked up to see Kisame laughing hysterically, and not only that, he was laughing at Deidara's fear.

Deidara climbed to his feet, noticing the blood that decorated his new T-shirt. When he closed his eyes, he had expected Zeotora to attack him, but she had done the complete opposite, she had saved his life.

Around the four of them, lay the lifeless bodies of wild cats that had responded to Zeotora's roars, they had attempted to kill Deidara, so Zeotora killed them instead. Therefore, saving Deidara's skin once again.

Deidara looked over to Zeotora, she still resembled a wild animal, but her stability was slowly returning to her.

She stood there shivering at the feeling of blood covering her once again, it had been so long since she had used her true strength to fulfil her need for blood. Zeotora thought she passed that phase when she left Orochimaru, but she needed all the stress to fade away.

And blood was the only thing that would help her fulfil that need. Blood always was the only thing that calmed her. Ever since that night, she killed that family and those children. All just to melt away her stress. All just to fulfil her need, to fulfil her hunger… to fulfil the urge of killing that lied deep within her.

Deidara took a step forward slowly, careful not to make the Kunoichi jump.

He continued walking closer to the girl, never once letting his guard down.

"You don't need to be so careful… I'm not hungry."

The words startled Deidara, mostly because he was being so careful with his movements but another part of him was fascinated by those last words, _I'm not hungry. _What was that supposed to mean? And if she was hungry, does that mean she would EAT Deidara?

"What do you mean, un?" Deidara asked, just as careful with his words, as he was with his steps.

"I mean, if I was hungry you wouldn't be standing there." Zeotora's reply was icy, she was turned away from Deidara. It was obvious that she was angry… but why?

"I'm sorry, I… I just." The softness returned to Zeotora's voice, a hint of shyness latching onto her words.

"You just what, un?" Deidara placed his hand gently on Zeotora's shoulder. She flinched at the touch slightly, before replying.

"I've never been… before." Deidara had never before heard Zeotora when she was shy, never before had he seen her act this way.

"What, un?" Deidara knew it was a life-threatening question, but he wanted to hear Zeotora say it. Zeotora sighed and closed her eyes.

"I've never been… loved before." Zeotora said the word, loved, so quietly Deidara had to strain to hear it, the word rolled off of Zeotora's tongue. It sent a warm shiver down Deidara's spine, oh how he wanted Zeotora to say she loved him as well. He knew it was just a fantasy his mind wanted so much, but he couldn't help but imagine the feeling.

Zeotora waited for a reaction, but knew she wouldn't get one.

"Hey Deidara! Pein isn't too happy about your little chasing Zeotora thing, he wants you to head back immediately." To say that Kisame was lying, wouldn't be completely true, Pein had said pretty much those same words when Deidara had started running, well flying, after Zeotora.

Deidara ignored Kisame, he kept his hand on the elegant shoulder. Zeotora was returning to normal, but slower than usual.

"They're right, you should go back." Zeotora stated coldly, putting her best efforts into pretending that she wanted him gone. Deidara couldn't find his breath, the force in the simple words, cut so deep. Deidara knew Zeotora was only saying that so she could act strong, but it still hurt.

Zeotora swallowed down the lump in her throat, she was getting all choked up. This was exactly the reason why she decided to leave, the way she did.

"So… you're not coming back to the Akatsuki, un?" Deidara's voice, it burned a hole into Zeotora's heart, the tenderness and genuine sincerity. The truth was all so clear, Deidara did love Zeotora, it was so obvious.

"I have to go, I can't stay. So… goodbye Dei dei." Zeotora turned to face Deidara this time. The tears threatened to fall any minute now, they were building up slowly in the corners of Zeotora's eyes. The most amazing thing about Zeotora, was her determined and unbreakable spirit. No matter what, she stuck to her opinion and if she wanted to do something, she would do it eventually.

"Bye… Zeotora, un." Deidara found himself tripping over his words as he looked into Zeotora's eyes, they always spoke the truth. You could always see what Zeotora was feeling, just by looking into her eyes. Her beautiful, amazing, blue eyes.

Deidara turned to leave but was stopped by the arms that wrapped around him.

Zeotora could never leave without saying goodbye properly, it was a habit she had. She couldn't leave things as they were, she didn't want to leave Deidara thinking that he had done something wrong. Zeotora held Deidara tightly, her arms warming him, comforting him, Deidara didn't want the feeling to end, it was the best feeling Deidara could possibly imagine, it was beautiful, he could've even considered it art.

Then Zeotora let go, just as unexpectedly as she had done it in the first place. Now it really could be considered art.

"Here." Zeotora said while removing her headband, she held it out to Deidara, "To remember me." Deidara hesitated before taking hold of the headband.

Before he could say anything, a soft kiss was placed on his cheek. Zeotora looked into Deidara's eyes for one last time, before turning away and looking in the direction she was headed.

"Tell everyone that I will miss them." Zeotora waved goodbye to the three Akatsuki members, she pulled a cheeky grin and began running. Deidara felt his heart tear in two pieces, one staying beaten and battered in his chest, while the other half vowed to follow Zeotora to the ends of the earth. Kisame's smile dropped and his chuckled died down, he waved to the Kunoichi as she disappeared out of view. Itachi nodded kindly to Zeotora, a light, soft smile graced his lips as he bid the girl goodbye.

"C'mon Deidara, Itachi, let's go." Kisame said, his throat sounded scratchy as if he was about to cry. Deidara nodded sadly, but followed behind the Uchiha and his companion.

Deidara found himself looking back every now and then as he flew on his creation, when they reached the hideout once more, he didn't even bother to try and hold back the tears that fell from his ocean-blue eyes. Tobi knew it was best not to interact with Deidara at times like these, when his emotions got the better of him. Deidara pushed past his comrades, and headed to his room. Pein didn't confront Deidara about not obeying his orders.

Pein could read Deidara like a book, that was the best up side to being the leader of an organization of master-mind criminals. He could tell exactly how they worked, how their minds ticked, how they felt. And right from the beginning, Pein knew how Deidara felt about Zeotora.

The rest of the Akatsuki silently wished their ex-comrade a safe journey and a bright future before heading back inside.

* * *

Zeotora pushed open the door to her apartment, in the Land of Tea.

She threw her bag down and collapsed onto her couch, she rolled onto her side. A blanket was folded over the back of the couch, Zeotora pulled it over herself and fell into the haze between asleep and awake, but her heart was heavy. The look on Deidara's face was enough to bring, even the most heartless man on the planet, to tears.

She slipped off her shoes and curled up into a ball. She fell into a deep sleep, her dreams were haunted by the faces of those two children she slaughtered all those years ago. But the pain of guilt, wasn't enough to even compare with the feeling that sat at the bottom of Zeotora's heart, that was calling up to her desperately.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki hideout, four ninjas stood solemnly before their leader, while receiving details on their next mission.

"You are to find and kill these men." Pein slid a picture across the kitchen table, "They work for an organization called 'Armageddon Industries', and they are meant to be the toughest men in their land, and they're all champions of something. So be warned." Pein handed an envelope to one of the four men.

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow at sundown, you should reach the Land of Tea by morning."

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Ok, just letting you know, I had some help with this chapter, but only a little bit of help. My friend Niamh helped me out near the end**_

_**Oh and by the way, the two children mentioned in this chapter are the two children that Zeotora dreamt about when she fell asleep while watching the movie.**_

_**Anyway, don't forget to review!**_

_**See ya next time**__**!**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	4. The Old Gang

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**I don't know why, but whenever I'm writing about Zeotora, I find it hard to stop writing, not even for a minute.I got back from the Anime convention today, it was amazing!**_

_**Me and Niamh were too lazy and we never got our costumes finished, so we both just went as Kiba, lol! I ended up buying a Jashin necklace and Hidan's headband. Don't ask me why, but I couldn't resist. XP!**_

_**Oh yeah I will be putting the pictures from the convention up on my face book, DeviantART and probably my profile, if I can. So you can see us all messing about, and we took pictures with random strangers, it was really funny!**_

_**Anyway, on with the book…**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 4 - The Old Gang**

The next morning, Zeotora awoke to the beautiful sunrise. The birds' songs and the early morning rush that filled the streets. She stretched out, a slight crack was heard, Zeotora then swore as she collapsed back down onto the couch.

"Damn it!" Zeotora muttered under her breath as she tried to get up again.

After a few minutes of struggling and whispered swears, Zeotora pulled herself to her feet and trudged down the hall to the bathroom. Zeotora turned the taps and filled the bathtub with warm water, after waiting for it to fill up, she slipped off her clothes and climbed into the water.

Zeotora layed her head back, the ends of her hair dipped into the water, it was so calming. She couldn't remember the last time she had a relaxing bath. Just as Zeotora was about to doze off, there was a knock at the door.

_What? They found out already?_

Zeotora slid deeper into the water, as she thought about pretending that she wasn't home. The knock came again, but this time louder.

"Oh come on! We know you're in there!" A feminine voice shouted from behind the door. Zeotora thought about it for a while, the knocking was giving her a headache.

"Oh fine! Come in, but I'm in the bath!" Zeotora shouted back, she sat up and sighed. Zeotora heard the door click open and then close again. She reached for the towel, then unlocked the door and headed for the living room, with only a towel to cover herself.

"My, my, you seem to get more attractive each time we see you. Are you sure you're not trying to impress someone?"

"Hade! You know I only try to impress myself." Zeotora replied to the question asked by the boy sat on her couch.

"Come 'ere babe, give us a hug!" The boy stood up and held his arms out. Zeotora didn't even hesitate as she walked quickly over to her friend and hugged him tightly.

"Hey what 'bout us?" Zeotora looked over at her two other friends, Zeotora let go of Hade and went to give her other friends a hug as well.

"Kam! Mimi! I haven't seen you guys in ages!"

"Okay, I think you need to get changed, because… we're going SHOPPING!" The two girls, called Kam and Mimi, shouted in unison. Hade pulled out a bag, which he was hiding behind the couch, and handed it to Zeotora.

"What's this?" Zeotora asked curiously.

"Well, when we heard the news last night about you getting back, we decided to go shopping to buy you a new outfit." Mimi said cheerfully.

"Think f it as a welcome back gift." Kam finished.

"Aww guys… thanks" Zeotora thanked as she went to her room, to change.

* * *

The four of them made their way downtown, Zeotora was wearing a pair of white combat trousers, a white tank-top, a grey denim jacket and a pair of white sandals. Her hair was brushed and neatly styled, her bangs were brushed back and held in a quiff. She was wearing a light touch of foundation and plain sparkly lip gloss, mascara and touch of pink perfume.

Mimi had long, curly, ginger-blonde hair, they fell down to her waist and the bangs were brushed to the side and held back with a small, pink butterfly clip. She was wearing a denim mini skirt with pink socks that came up to her knees, black dolly shoes, a pink v-neck top, with three-quarter length sleeves and a denim bag hung over her shoulder. Mimi's make-up consisted of too much foundation, a huge amount of blush, bright pink lip gloss, a load of mascara, pink eye shadow and too much perfume. Not to mention her long, perfectly manicured nails.

Kam wore simple baggy jeans, black trainers, a football jersey and a camouflage baseball cap. Her black hair sat in a ponytail, that reached just bellow her shoulders. Kam hated make-up, so she never wore any.

Hade wore tight, light blue jeans, a black sleeveless top, white trainers and a leather jacket. His hair was brown and spiked-up, red highlights scattered everywhere. And a gel holding everything in place.

The four of them searched through all the shops that took their interest. Mimi dragged everyone into every girly shop, Kam begged tog o into every sports shop. Hade went through the guys' section in every shop, flirting with every guy he layed eyes on. Zeotora just tagged along, looking at little things that caught her eye. They finally found a shop, that they couldn't leave. Their was a super girly section, a sporting section, a guy section and just an average everyday section.

By the time they left the shop, they were all carrying loads of bags.

Mimi bought almost everything that was pink, her father was the manager of a major company, so she was aloud as much money as her heart desired, meaning she could get anything. She was an only child after all. Hade got some new jeans, a new jacket, some hair gel and this guy's number. Hade was always good at flirting, it was one of his many hobbies. Kam bought a tracksuit, a new pair of trainers and some other gadgets. She was the sporty one, she was more of a man than Hade, Kam loved sports and she never missed a football match. Zeotora bought a black Michael Jackson hat and a black belt. She was wearing the belt and messing about with the hat, with more bags, filled with random junk, sat in her arms.

Zeotora was messing about, when she threw her hat at Hade, he caught it and threw it back. Zeotora ducked as the hat came flying towards her. She would have caught it, but her friends didn't know she was a ninja, every time she went on a mission or something like that, she would pretend she was on a short holiday.

The hat landed on the floor a few feet behind Zeotora. She shot a glance at Hade, as he and the two girls began laughing. Just as Zeotora was about to turn around, she heard footsteps behind her and all of a sudden, the footsteps sped up and came closer and closer.

Zeotora felt arms wrap around her waist, as she was lifted into the air. At first she had no idea what was going on, but then she remembered that she only knew one person who ever did anything like that.

Her suspicions were confirmed as she heard the person behind her shout, "MISS ZEOTORA!"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**I know, this chapter is very random, but I thought you would want to get to know Zeotora's friends.**_

_**Oh and by the way, yes Hade is gay. Hade is actually Japanese for gay. Clever don't you think?**_

_**Anyway, don't forget to review.**_

_**Until next time…**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	5. Introductions

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**I have decided to make my story more interesting… Like a game.**_

_**Here's how you play:**_

_** 1. I ask a question at the beginning or end of each chapter.**_

_**2. You review telling what you think of my story and answer the question.**_

_**3. And the best answers are put at the beginning of each chapter.**_

_**So get reviewing XP**_

_**Sorry it took so long to publish this chapter, but I still only have 2 reviews and I have been attacked by a giant monster that goes by the name Writer's Block, so please review!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 5 - Introductions**

"T-Tobi!" Zeotora stuttered, she never expected to see Tobi this soon.

"Miss Zeotora! Why did you leave? You didn't even say goodbye!" Tobi sobbed, rubbing his head against Zeotora's back. Tobi tightened his grip around Zeotora. She let out a slight whimper.

"Tobi… I c-can't breath…" Zeotora tried to warn Tobi about her lack of oxygen.

"Oh right., Sorry Miss Zeotora." Tobi put Zeotora down gently, Zeotora gasped in loads of air as soon as Tobi let go of her.

"What are you doing here?" Zeotora asked.

"Leader-sama sent four of us on a mission, here in the Land of Tea. I can't believe we bumped into you!" Tobi hugged Zeotora again, this time he didn't lift her off of the ground.

"Wait, who are the other three?" Zeotora asked, then she spotted the others.

"Hey Twinkle!"

A smile spread across Zeotora's face, "Hey Slick!" Neither of the two made any physical contact, it was still kinda awkward. Then Kakuzu stepped forward to stand beside Hidan. "Zuzu!" Zeotora waved cheerfully, trying to ignore the confused looks on her friends' faces.

If they found out about Zeotora being a ninja, she would be doomed.

"Wait… Tobi, Slick and Zuzu… that leaves only one person." Zeotora thought to herself. Suddenly, Zeotora's hat was thrown through the air, On instinct, Zeotora caught the hat, she looked at the hat for a moment, before looking behind Hidan and Kakuzu to see the fourth comrade slowly walking closer to the scene.

"Dei dei…" Zeotora muttered under her breath.

"So, you gonna introduce us?" Mimi skipped over to Zeotora and asked, playfully.

"Oh right, yeah." Zeotora said, her eyes refusing to leave Deidara. "This is Mimi, Kam and Hade." Zeotora said while pointing to each one of her friends. "Guys, they are Slick, Zuzu, Tobi and Dei dei." Zeotora pointed to each of the four men.

"Actually…" Hidan trailed off, "My real name is Hidan, this is Kakuzu, Tobi and Deidara." Hidan corrected.

"Well, it's nice to meet you… Hidan." Hade put on a flirty voice and stepped extremely close to Hidan. He began rubbing his hand along Hidan's arm, making the Akatsuki member feel VERY uncomfortable.

Zeotora couldn't help but laugh at the look on Hidan's face, it was somewhere between confusion and disbelief, and their was a little bit of disgust somewhere. Hidan gritted his teeth and put his hands on Hade's shoulders, he then gently pushed him a far away as possible.

Zeotora looked at her ex-comrades, it was obvious that they didn't expect to see her on their mission, but they did, so… lucky them.

Then there was an awkward silence. Zeotora felt Hidan's and Kakuzu's eyes, burning into her skin, while Tobi looked at everything. Deidara, however, was silently staring at the ground.

"I have a great idea!" Mimi shouted out of the blue. Everyone looked at her, "We can all go on double dates!" Mimi grinned a wide, self-complimenting smile. Hidan thought that Mimi's smile was no where near as genuine as Zeotora's.

"Double dates?" Zeotora asked, silently telling her to shut up.

"Yeah! Us and them, it's perfect."

"Not really…" Zeotora trailed off. She couldn't help but realise how similar Tobi and Mimi were.

"Aww, please! Just see how it goes!"

"But they are probably busy." Zeotora protested.

"No we're not! We have a few days, until we have to get to work." Tobi butted in, Zeotora felt like face-palming.

"Great! I guess the dates will have to be sorted out." Mimi thought for a moment. "I guess me and Tobi, he's kinda cute…" Mimi whispered the last part, "Ermm, Hidan and Hade." Hade smiled evilly, Hidan just gulped, "Kam and Kakuzu, and then that leaves Zeotora and Deidara!"

Deidara flinched, Zeotora just stared at Mimi with wide eyes.

"Okay, let's go then!" Hade shouted while grabbing Hidan's arm. "We have dates to get to!" It was obvious that Hidan wished he wasn't immortal, so he could die of embarrassment, and it was even more obvious that Hade was extremely happy about going on this date.

* * *

Deidara and Zeotora walked, side-by-side, down the streets. Deidara kept his eyes on the ground and his hands in his pockets, while Zeotora was avoiding conversation and looking in any direction. This had to be one of THE most awkward moments EVER.

"So… uh, what do you wanna do?" Zeotora asked reluctantly. Deidara just shrugged, keeping his gaze to the floor. Zeotora bit her lip and looked down at the ground.

"Dei… why don't you talk to me?" The guilt in Zeotora's heart was building up, she could hardly take it anymore.

"I don't know, I guess… because you almost left without saying goodbye…" Deidara trailed off, he looked up at Zeotora from the corner of his eye.

"Look, I'm sorry about that but… I had to, you know me-"

"Do I?" Zeotora was cut off, Deidara's head shot up and he glared at her angrily. "Sometimes it feels like I don't. When I think I know you, you go and do something, un! Like the time you blew up the hideout, or the time you tried to kill me, or what about the time you went and joined that… that bastard Orochimaru and then just left, un!" The anger in Deidara's voice made Zeotora sink deeper and deeper into the feeling of guilt. Somehow she knew Deidara would be angry, but she never thought he would react like this.

Deidara continued to glare at Zeotora, slowly his expression faded into that of remorse. Zeotora was truly sorry for what she had done, and it was visible on her face. "Sorry, un…" Deidara sat down on the bench by the park, Zeotora hesitated before sitting beside him.

"For what? As far as I can think, you haven't done anything wrong." Zeotora said comfortingly.

"Well, I did just shout at you, un." Zeotora mouthed an 'oh yea' then Deidara continued, "And I did try to punch you that morning, remember, un?" Zeotora nodded, "And what about when I was actually trying to kill you, with my creations, un…"

"Okay, okay… so you have a reason for apologizing, it's no big deal compared to what I did." Zeotora let out a small giggle, "You know what? You should have told me earlier, maybe it could've been different."

"Told you what earlier, un?" Deidara asked, slightly confused.

Zeotora gave Deidara a look and, almost instantly, Deidara knew what Zeotora was talking about.

"I did mean it, un…" Deidara said, referring to the comment he made, while trying to stop Zeotora from leaving.

Zeotora smiled lightly, "I know…" The two sat in silence, until Kakuzu, Kam, Hidan and Hade came running towards them.

"What is it?" Zeotora asked, judging by the looks on their faces, this wasn't going to be good news.

They caught their breathes for a moment, "Mimi and Tobi… they've gone missing!"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Well, what did ya think?**_

_**Yeah I know, it took me ages to update, but I have been really stuck, anyway…**_

_**Who's ready for the very first question? No one? I knew it.. Oh well, I'm gonna ask anyway.**_

_**Q1. Who do YOU think is perfect for Zeotora?**_

_**Don't forget to review and/or answer the question.**_

_**Until next time…**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	6. Hostage

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**Okay, thanks for the reviews and I think the question game thing was a good idea, since I now have a new reviewer. Hi LakunaWolf! *Waves***_

_**Anyway, so far only two people have answered my question, but that's better than nothing.**_

_**And I kinda expected the answers to be the same…**_

_**- 10 tailed demon cat dei lover - I think Deidara is best for Zeotora**_

_**- LakunaWolf - I think Deidara is best for Zeotora.**_

… _**wow… you both said exactly the same! I'm not even joking, look at the reviews they both say the exact same!**_

_**Anyway, on with the story!**_

**Chapter 6 - Hostage**

"What?" Zeotora stood up quickly.

"We looked everywhere… and we couldn't find them, Their date was meant to be over half an hour ago…" Hade said while catching his breath.

"I'll call Mimi." Zeotora said as she pulled out her blue and black Samsung, she pushed a few buttons and then held the phone to her ear. Zeotora couldn't stand the tension, the phone was just ringing, no one was picking up. Just as she was about to hang up, the ringing stopped. Someone had answered.

"Mimi? Where are you?" Zeotora asked calmly, trying to hide the worry in her voice.

There was slight crackling from the other end but then Zeotora could hear crying.

"Mimi? Are you… crying?" No reply, "Mimi? Answer me!" Zeotora was loosing her cool, the more Mimi wouldn't answer, the more worried they all got.

"Miss Zeotora!" Zeotora's eyes widened, it was definatly Tobi's voice, but it sounded slightly muffled.

"Tobi! Where are you two? What's going on?" Zeotora was now really panicking.

"Help…" Zeotora couldn't take it anymore.

"Tobi! Why? What happened?" No matter how hard she tried, Zeotora couldn't keep calm. Suddenly the phone was picked up and an evil snicker echoed through the phone.

"Now, now Zeotora… don't be so impatient." The snicker then turned into a laugh that sent a shiver down Zeotora's spine. "The game's just begun-" The line was cut off.

"Wait! What? Mimi! Tobi!" Zeotora started getting a sick feeling in her stomach, "Damn it!" She pushed past Hade and Kam, who were starting wide-eyed, waiting for an answer as to where their friend was. Zeotora pulled Hidan, Kakuzu and Deidara out of ear-shot, so the two others couldn't hear what they were talking about.

"What's wrong?" Hidan asked solemnly, Zeotora had taken on her serious and mature manner, her eyes were slim and icy, while her expression maintained a look of anger.

"Orochimaru."

Everyone straitened up and listened as Zeotora told them what the evil snake had said.

"Game? What does he mean by game, un?" Deidara was confused, as was Kakuzu and Hidan. But Zeotora had a pretty good idea about what was happening.

"It's my fault. Orochimaru is trying to get to me." All attention was given to Zeotora's words as she explained the situation. "He knows that if he puts my friends in danger, then he will have the upper hand, therefore giving him the power to control my actions with threats and mind games." Zeotora thought for a moment. "If he kidnaps the most defenceless of the group, he can slowly spilt us up and eventually there will only be me left. Then he can bargain with me."

"Bargain?" Kakuzu didn't know what kind of bargaining Zeotora was talking about, but he was sure it wasn't to do with money.

"Yes, bargain. He's gonna try and get me to work for him, in exchange for your lives. And I will have no choice but to accept the terms. Because if I don't… You will all die."

That eerie silence that made them all feel uncomfortable slid over the four ninja, each one was letting their eyes flicker over each other, trying to read the look on their faces.

"I have to tell them." Zeotora broke the silence as she straightened up and headed back to the clueless townies.

"What? Tell them?" Kakuzu caught up to Zeotora first, "Tell them what?"

"That I'm a ninja." Zeotora kept walking, not once turning to look back at her ex-comrades., "Hade, Kam. There is something I have to tell you."

"What is it?" The two asked in unison.

"Well, these guys are ninja from a secret organization called the Akatsuki." Kakuzu stared wide-eyed, Hidan's jaw hit the ground and Deidara was complaining about it being a SECRET organisation. But Zeotora just kept talking, "I have been keeping a secret from you for many years. I met them because… I too am in the Akatsuki."

"But… wouldn't that mean that you have to be a ninja as well?" Hade asked.

"Yes, I am a ninja. I was born and raised in the Leaf Village in the Land of Fire. I was trained to be a ninja from a very young age and one day I ran away from home and since then I have been a missing-nin, meaning that I am a wanted criminal. And while I was away from home I encountered a Shinobi called Orochimaru, he is an evil, mass criminal, he is wanted in almost every Ninja Village and his name is known to every ninja. He managed to convince me to work for him, that is how I became a criminal, I worked for him by killing those who stood in his way. I didn't want to live that life anymore so I left and joined the Akatsuki to get revenge on him, you see, my brother works for him and I want my brother back. Anyway, ever since I left Orochimaru, he has been trying different tactics on how to get me to work for him again. Now that I have quit the Akatsuki, he thinks that by kidnapping my friends, he can get me on his side." Zeotora took a break before continuing, "Long story short… Orochimaru ahs kidnapped Tobi and Mimi."

Hade and Kam stood, staring at Zeotora. It was an awful lot of information to take in.

"So… that means, whenever you told us you were going on a short holiday, you were really…"

"Yes, I was on a mission." Zeotora sighed.

"Oh my god! They kidnapped Mimi and Tobi?" Kam and Hade had only just lat the words sink in, they had no idea about any of it.

"Yes, that's why we aren't going to split up from now on, we have to stay together, because I think Orochimaru is gonna try to get you two next."

The two looked at each other with scared looks on their faces.

"Don't worry, you're safe with us." Hidan butted in, Hade grinned and latched onto Hidan's arm. _Oh great._

"My hero…" Hade muttered as he snuggled into Hidan, making the immortal shudder, he really hated this, but if it made Zeotora feel more comfortable, knowing that her friends were safe and happy, then Hidan would do it.

* * *

The group headed back to Zeotora's apartment. It was starting to get dark, so Zeotora decided to let everyone stay there for the night. Hidan claimed the couch the second they got through the door, Kakuzu got comfy in the armchair, while Kam went to get the sleeping bag, Hade was begging to sleep with Hidan, but he was doing all he could to keep the guy off of him. Then he came up with a good excuse that convinced Hade, but it made Zeotora giggle.

"Look, I don't think we should sleep together after only one date, maybe some other time?" Hidan kept his voice very cool and layed back, but inside he was screaming, he really didn't want anything to do with Hade.

"Sure thing, some other time!" Hade had a smile plastered across his face, he was really crushing on the Jashinist.

"Well, we should all get some sleep. C'mon Hade, you can sleep with me." Zeotora held out her hand as she went to leave the room, Hade got up and took Zeotora's hand in his own, she turned out the light and they both went to bed.

"Night guys!" Zeotora called from the room.

"Night Zeotora!"

"Night Twinkle!"

"Goodnight!"

"Night, un!"

"Nighty night everyone!"

The small flat was soon filled with soft breathing and light snores. Other than that, there was silence, the pleasant dreams and peaceful nights did nothing but block out the sound of the window clicking open and a figure silently creeping in and creeping around the living room. After retrieving what the person had come for, they left and closed the window behind them, making it impossible to track the stealthy ninja.

The next morning Kakuzu rolled off of the arm chair and straight onto Kam's sleeping bag.

"Oh, sorry about that Kam…" Kakuzu yawned, but realized something wasn't right as he didn't hear Kam complain. He turned to investigate, then he noticed that Kam was missing.

"Shit, Zeotora!" Zeotora came running out of her room, a look of panic on her face.

"Where's Kam?" She said hurriedly after realizing the absence of her friend.

"She's gone." Kakuzu said.

Zeotora looked down at the ground before looking up again and saying, "Hade's gone as well…"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**What do think, I know the story hasn't been that interesting so far, so I thought I would make it more tension building.**_

_**Anyway, next question…**_

_**Q2. What do you think is gonna happen to Mimi, Tobi, Hade and Kam?**_

_**Remember, all answers will be posted at the beginning of the next chapter, so get reviewing. And don't forget to mention my book!**_

_**See ya next time.**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	7. A New Mission

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**Well, only one person has replied to my question, but anyway, THANK YOU!**_

_**10 tailed demon dei cat lover - I think Orochimaru might torture them.**_

_**I would also like to ask anyone who reads any of my books to take part in the poll on my profile, thanks.**_

_**On with the story.**_

**Chapter 7 - A New Mission**

The four remaining ninja sat in silence for a few moments. Zeotora's eyes scanning over the room searching for some kind of clue, any tiny factor that could lead to the whereabouts of Hade, Mimi, Kam and Tobi. Kakuzu sat still as Zeotora examined the sleeping bag. Hidan didn't know whether to be relieved that Hade wasn't fussing over him, or worried that he was gone. The Zeotora's eyes widened and she ran back and forth and in and out of the different rooms.

"Shit! Where's Dei dei?" Zeotora asked, her voice was rising to the point where it was obvious she was panicking.

The men looked around, Zeotora was right. Deidara was missing as well.

"Wait," Zeotora thought for a moment, "Where did Dei dei sleep last night?" Neither of the two could answer her question, it was starting to get confusing. "He was here last night, wasn't he?" Zeotora double checked, she recalled the events that occurred the night before.

"Yeah, 'cause he said goodnight." Hidan confirmed.

"Then what happened?" Even to a former ANBU captain, this didn't make sense. If Deidara was with them lat night, then why didn't he go to bed, he didn't even have a bed. And all of a sudden Kam and Hade are gone, and so is the blonde artist.

Zeotora went to her room, a few minutes later she emerged wearing her usual black uniform, made up of shorts, a belly-top, knee protectors and fingerless gloves. Her hair was brushed back into a quiff and her face coated with her serious, cold exterior.

"Get dressed, we're going to find them." Zeotora instructed as she pulled on her boots. Hidan simply grabbed his Akatsuki cloak and cracked his neck. Kakuzu slipped on his shirt, belt and cloak. His mask and headband were adjusted and he rose to his feet. They nodded to each other, signalling that they were ready.

Zeotora gave her instructions and led her fellow ninja out of the apartment and out into the street.

"I think I can find Orochimaru's lair, just stay close unless I say otherwise. Got it?" Zeotora made sure they knew their orders before they headed off out of the village.

"Wait, what about our mission?" Hidan half asked, half whispered to Kakuzu.

"I guess that has to wait, you and I both know better than to go against Zeotora's orders when she's like this." Kakuzu gave Hidan a look, that immediately shut him up. It was true. When Zeotora was taken over by former ANBU personality, no one could snap her out of it, and no one could go against her word. It just wasn't heard of, not even Kabuto was strong enough to over power Zeotora.

Zeotora ran straight forward, not once looking to her side or back at the men who were running behind her.

* * *

Several hours passed and the three ninja reached a dark and dreary looking building, the roof was lower than usual and stone steps led down under ground. The door was covered by a dark material, a purple pattern decorating the bottom of the thin curtain.

"We're here…" Zeotora stated, while keeping her voice low. "Stay together. We don't know what traps there might be." Zeotora warned as she took slow, light steps towards the building. Hidan and Kakuzu followed, copying her every step and movement, if this didn't go as planned, they would be the ones Zeotora would blame, she wasn't usually like this, but these were her friends, they were the world to her. If something, anything happened to them, Zeotora would never forgive herself. And Kakuzu didn't want Zeotora to take any blame that might be put on her shoulders. Hidan was Zeotora's best friend, he knew how serious she was when it came to friendships, trust, bonds and emotions. She never had a real family so she made up for it, by putting so much effort into her friends.

Suddenly Zeotora stopped dead in her tracks and held her arm out, signalling for them to stop as well.

"What is it?" Kakuzu whispered, just loud enough for Zeotora to hear.

Zeotora eyed the surroundings, she was balancing on one leg and the other was in mid air, she kept extremely still, she was tense and didn't want to raise any alarms. Zeotora looked around carefully, before casually placing her foot on the ground and turning around quickly. "They know we're here." She turned back to face the building as she could hear ninja rushing about in the lair.

Hidan and Kakuzu watched the door fling open and an uncountable amount of Shinobi pour out to stand defensively in front of the building. Before Kakuzu and Hidan could react, Zeotora jumped forward and swung her leg through the air, knocking three ninja back. The Kunoichi grabbed a few shuriken and flung them at the five men who were charging towards her, the kunai that were in their hands were collected by Zeotora and thrown into the chest of another ninja.

The miser and the zealot stood, staring in awe as the younger female tore through the enemy defences.

"Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna help me?" Zeotora called back.

Kakuzu ran forward swinging his money box, knocking out two ninja. Hidan drove his scythe through three men at once, he then flung the victims of his blade around firing them at other ninja. In no time at all, only three ninja remained. They panted and wiped the sweat from their foreheads before regaining their composure and standing tall. Kakuzu, Hidan and Zeotora walked closer to the building this time Kabuto emerged from the curtain covered door, followed by a group of highly skilled Shinobi, they were all wearing ANBU uniforms.

"Well, so nice to see you aga-"

"Get out of my way." Zeotora said fiercely, she growled as she grabbed Kabuto's arm and pushed him aside. The ninja stared as Zeotora casually pushed open the door and entered. "Hidan! Kakuzu!" Her comrades did as they were told and followed the young Kunoichi. Kabuto sat up, resting on his elbows as the Akatsuki members walked past him and entered the lair. The force Zeotora used had caused Kabuto to fall to the ground.

"Well go on then! Attack her!" Kabuto ordered.

They didn't react, "But… we can't attack our former captain…" They said innocently.

"Damn it!" Kabuto grunted as he got up and ran after his little sister. He pushed the door, but it didn't budge. "What?" Kabuto tried to open the door, "That bitch… she locked the door…" Kabuto ran from the door and around the building to try a different entrance.

* * *

After a few minutes of making their way around the complex building, they came to a large wooden door. Zeotora didn't hesitate as she pushed the large door, with almost no effort, it slowly creaked open and revealed a candle-lit room, it was dull and hard to see but there was a dark outline of someone sat on the far side of the room.

"Orochimaru…" Kakuzu hissed, as he stared at the person.

"No, it's not…" Zeotora corrected.

"What do you mean? Then who is it? Sasuke?" Hidan asked, he was wondering how Zeotora could tell in such dull lighting.

The figure stood up and let out an evil snicker, the person looked straight into Zeotora's eyes, not even fearing her icy gaze.

"You're right, it isn't me." Orochimaru's voice came from behind them. The three turned quickly.

"Orochimaru." Hidan scowled.

"That's right, and that lovely person over there is one of my humble subordinates." Orochimaru chuckled lightly.

Zeotora's gaze fell back to the figure, stood in the dark room. "It's not Sasuke… it's Mimi…"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Oooh… It's Mimi! *gob smacked***_

_**Sorry about the confusing-ness of this chapter.**_

_**Okay, this chapter's question shall be…**_

_**Q3. Why do you think Deidara WAS in the flat the night before, but didn't set up a bed and went missing?**_

_**Don't forget to review, and make sure you take part in the poll!**_

_**See ya next time!**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	8. The Brawl Of BFFLs

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**Thanks for the reviews so far, but come on! You can do better than that! I mean, only 3 people have reviewed, and they consist of my best friend Niamh, my good friend Christina (Sorry, I couldn't help but investigate my reviewers lol) and LakunaWolf.**_

_**I know that the last question was probably a bit difficult, and I couldn't wait any longer, I have already written chapter 8 AND 9, and I don't want to write chapter 10 just yet, so I thought I would publish this chapter now.**_

_**By the way, if you can't think of an answer to a question, just don't put an answer and just tell me what you think of my book instead.**_

_**On with the story!**_

**Chapter 8 - The Brawl Of BFFLs**

"Mimi? Then… wait, WHAT! What is going on?" Hidan tried to pry at least one sentence that actually made sense, but he was too confused and ended up just talking rubbish.

"Shut up Hidan." Zeotora said coldly. Her tone caused Hidan to, not only, shut up but feel neglected and worthless. That was the scary thing about Zeotora, when she was just hanging around her friends and comrades, she would have a friendly, casual personality. But when she was on missions or in enemy territory, she would instantly hide deep down within herself and put up an invisible shield, that made anyone who came into contact with it, freeze on the spot and feel completely useless.

"I do believe your, so called, friend wishes to sort some things out with you. We'll leave you to it." As soon as Orochimaru spoke these words he, Hidan and Kakuzu vanished.

"Oh Zeotora…" Mimi sang out, she giggled slightly as she stepped forward, into the candle light. She was wearing a black bodysuit. It covered her arms, legs, torso and a black mask was pulled up, to keep the lower half of her face out of view. But her ginger-blonde hair sat in high pigtails, the curls dangling by her shoulders. Mimi's high heels were gone and were now replaced by black sandals, and silver daggers were tucked into her belt.

It was then that Zeotora noticed the Sound village headband tied around Mimi's waist.

"What the…? Mimi, what the hell are you doing?" Zeotora asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm working for Orochimaru-sama, I have been working for him ever since your first mission in the Akatsuki, you know the one where you infiltrated Orochimaru-sama's lair and killed that Maktro kid?"

"How do you know about that?" Zeotora was trying to think back to any moment that she could've given away any details about her life as a ninja.

"Well you see Maktro… did you check his pulse after you '_supposedly' _killed him?" That glint in Mimi's eye wasn't a good sign, and Zeotora didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Of course you didn't. I know you didn't… because I was there…" It was obvious that Mimi was grinning under mask, and every word she spoke just made Zeotora's blood run colder and colder. "Maktro is a code name, do you know what Maktro's real name is? Of course you don't… well I'll tell you." Zeotora automatically knew what Mimi was going to say next, why hadn't she realized it, Maktro was…

"Maktro is me." Mimi said, her giggle had escalated to an evil laugh.

"So that's how you knew how to counter all my attacks…" Zeotora spoke to herself.

"Now." Mimi started as she stretched out her arms, " How about a rematch?" There was really no point in asking, because the second she finished talking she threw a kick at Zeotora.

The blonde used the back of her hand to stop Mimi's kick, Zeotora then adjusted the angle of her hand and gripped Mimi's ankle firmly, "You're on."

* * *

The Jashinist awoke to a blinding light, he went to cover his violet eyes with his hand, but then realized that he couldn't move. Hidan looked around, only to find that he was tied down, and not only that, he was tied back-to-back… with Hade!

"Oh Hidan! You're awake!" Hade said affectionately.

_Oh Lord Jashin, save me… _Hidan thought to himself, "Wait, where is Kakuzu?" Hidan didn't really care where Kakuzu was, he just didn't want to have to talk to Hade.

"Over here." Hidan turned to see Kakuzu tied back-to-back with Tobi, _Lucky bastard…_ Hidan thought, he did find Tobi annoying, but he would rather be tied to the childish criminal, than some gay guy that has a crush on him.

Hidan looked around, "Wait, if you, me, Hade and Tobi are here, than where's Kam and Deidara? I know that Zeotora is somewhere with Mimi- OH MY JASHIN! WHAT IS GOING ON? MIMI WORKS FOR OROCHIMARU!" Hidan started panicking.

"Shut up Hidan…" The Jashinist looked over to the corner of the room and saw Kam leaning against the wall.

"Oh… so that only leaves Deidara, where is he?" Kakuzu asked calmly.

"What? Deidara went missing as well? He was never here." Kam's comment had then two men confused.

If Deidara wasn't kidnapped, and he wasn't sleeping in the apartment… then what happened to him?

Suddenly, a loud crash came from above the hostages, there were continuous thumps and bangs. Metal clashing was one of the more frequent sounds, but other than that it was pretty much just punches and kicks that could be heard.

"What the hell is going on up there?" Hidan asked himself.

* * *

Zeotora was thrown straight into the wall, she quickly recovered and braced herself with one foot on the ground, while the other pushed against the wall, she pushed off of the wall with all her strength and charged into Mimi, knocking her down onto the ground, Zeotora sat up so she was straddling Mimi, she pulled her fist back. Zeotora hesitated for a moment before bringing her fist down, slamming straight into Mimi's jaw.

"Sorry Mimsy…" Zeotora muttered, as she pounded Mimi to a pulp.

"What for?" Mimi grunted as she flipped the two of them over, so Zeotora was pinned down, with Mimi on top of her. "I'm not the one who's losing!" Mimi teased as she punched Zeotora over and over with all her might.

"Shut the hell up you tramp!" Zeotora shouted, she then dug her knee into Mimi's back, causing her to cry out in pain and stop punching for a split second.

A split second was all Zeotora needed to turn the tables, in the blink of an eye, Mimi was pinned face down. Zeotora pulled out a kunai, but Mimi was very flexible, she lifted her leg and kicked the kunai out of Zeotora's hand, she then flung her head back and head butted Zeotora, causing blood to run down the back of Mimi's head and Zeotora's forehead.

Mimi sat up and used her elbow to slam into Zeotora's stomach, blood splattered down Zeotora's chin, the taste of blood wasn't the nicest taste in the world, but for some reason it made Zeotora stronger. The iron like substance seemed to give her more power.

Mimi brought her leg up and slammed it into Zeotora's chest, this caused a temporary loss of oxygen. But to Zeotora, temporary lasted forever. She couldn't breath and the more beating she took the weaker she felt. But that taste, that one taste of blood was starting to sizzle in her mouth. It was sort of burning away the pain and bringing air to her lungs.

Then she blacked out.

The hostages sat in silence, listening to the fight above them, two best friends fighting each other. Wanting to spill the other's blood. Then a high-pitched scream echoed through the whole lair and the ceiling came crashing down and blood covered the tiles that once belonged to the floor above.

Mimi lay panting and very weak, she was very pale and there were bite marks along her neck, she looked half dead already, but she was still breathing… hardly.

Another figure jumped down to stand above the barely living Mimi.

Fresh blood dripped from her lips, it also coated her now large fangs. But the blood belonged to a certain, betraying, ginger-haired girl.

"I'm not finished with you yet… I haven't finished drinking your blood…" _Oh no…_ Was the thought that ran through everyone's mind.

"You want to know something? The very, very, very last drop of blood tastes the best." The demon-possessed Zeotora lunged forward, her goal?

To kill…

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**OMG! Don't you just hate it when I end a chapter with a cliffy? HAHA you have to wait, and I have a secret…**_

_**The next chapter is being held captive! That's right! I have already finished chapter 9 and now I might start working on the tenth chapter!**_

_**Anyway this chapter's question shall be…**_

_**Q4. If one of the Akatsuki members had to die, who would you prefer it to be? And why?**_

_**And you can't say 'because they don't do anything' or 'because they freak me out' because I promise everyone will have a part in this story. And it's not aloud to be a personal dislike for that person.**_

_**Oh yeah, and this question is just random and has nothing to do with the actual story, I just wanted to know who you would pick.**_

_**See ya next time!**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	9. True Love Conquers All

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz! **_

_**Thank you for the reviews, how ever few there may be, they still are important to me!**_

_**Okay, so I know that last chapter's question was really hard, so I don't mind that you couldn't answer it. Because... it was actually a test!**_

_**I wanted to see how many people, if any, would actually pick one that wouldn't make any difference if they died. And even though only one person reviewed, you passed the test XP**_

_**Thank you so much to anyone and everyone who reads any of my books AND takes the time to review, the little tiny priceless reviews are what keep me writing, so please spare that little amount of your time to telly me what you think.**_

_**Wow… I wrote a lot, didn't I? **_

_**Anyway, let the story commence!**_

**Chapter 9 - True Love Conquers All**

There was a stomach turning tearing sound as Zeotora's fangs once more penetrated the skin and flesh on Mimi's neck. The girl was too weak to even express her pain as she lay helpless, feeling her own blood slowly drain away.

Hidan could practically feel Hade's blood run cold at the sight of his best friend drinking the blood of another best friend. The brunette looked away as Mimi tried to squirm, only resulting in a slight squeak of discomfort.

Kam was a brave, strong and fearless girl. But the scene before her was too much, her eyes began to sting as a tear, made up of fear, horror and disbelief, rolled from the corner of her eye and down her cheek.

Tobi squealed, he had once been in Mimi's situation. But he wasn't sure which was scarier.

Being a victim of the possessed blonde, watching Zeotora drink the blood of her victim or not knowing how or whether to stop the ruthless Kunoichi.

Kakuzu watched as the colour was drained from Mimi's skin, the sight was horrific, blood covering the two of them, wounds and bruises all over the two girls' skin. And the betrayer laying motionless, her eyes slowly drifting to a close.

There was a sickening snap as Zeotora pulled her fangs out of the now colourless skin. But no blood fell to the ground, nor did it drip from the gaping wound. Well of course not, the of Mimi's blood was either already staining the floor or it had just been devoured by the blood craving demon.

"Mmmm, I haven't tasted AB+ in years…" Zeotora let out a slight chuckle as she licked her lips, her eyes diverted back and forth between the five possible meals in front of her. "Let's see now… he's too skinny…" Zeotora's teasing voice spoke out, referring to Hade. "He's too old…" Kakuzu gaped at the insult, "Hmmm, I don't really like the taste of blood type A… that only leaves you…" Zeotora said, her eyes fixing on Hidan. She took a long, deep breath through her nose.

"I love it when my meals have large muscles… all the more blood." The blonde stated as she slowly walked closer.

Hidan had been in this situation before, when Zeotora disappeared after the hideout was blown up. But this seemed to be worse.

One, he was tied up.

Two, he was tied to Hade.

Three, all his chakra seemed to be drained ever since he woke up in this place.

And the worst of all… Zeotora was so close that Hidan could feel her breath on his face as the once human Kunoichi looked down at him, with that hunger in her eyes.

"This will be fun…" Zeotora knelt down and gripped Hidan's shoulders, she slowly leant forward. But she seemed to be moving extremely slow, as if to make sure he was really panicking and worrying before she killed him.

I know what you're all thinking, 'He's immortal, he can't die' But how could anyone survive with not a single drop of blood in their body. Not even a Jashinist would survive with those circumstances.

Zeotora used her hand to forcefully tilt Hidan's head slightly to the side, so she could have better access to his neck. Hidan struggled under her grip, how could someone who looked so fragile and gentle, have the strength to over power a 21 year-old man.

"This won't hurt a bit… Okay, so I lied…" Zeotora chuckled as she dug her fangs into Hidan's exposed neck, causing him to shudder and grit his teeth.

"Hidan!" Kakuzu called with a firm voice, just as Hidan's eyes were visibly getting heavier and slowly closing. "Hidan, you have to stay awake!" Hidan used strained to open his eyes completely, making sure not to close them, other than to blink.

Hade was shaking, he could actually hear the sound of blood being drained from Hidan's masculine body.

"No… Hidan…" Hade's eyes struggled to look back at Hidan, he was getting weak and could hold his head up anymore. Zeotora released her grip on Hidan's head, bringing her hand back down to the Jashinist's shoulder. Hidan's head instantly fell back, to rest on Hade.

It was getting difficult to even find the strength to blink. Not to mention move, at all.

"Oh god… Zeotora!" Hade called, anger flooding his voice. "Get the hell off of him!" Hade wriggled his hands, and managed to free them, he then moved Hidan's head ever so slightly and used his shoulder to loosen the ropes around their torsos.

Hade spun round and pushed Zeotora back, but her fangs were dug so deep that it didn't loosen her grip. Zeotora growled at the brunette, her eyes narrowed, they practically told Hade that he was next.

"Don't you DARE kill Hidan!" Hade shouted as he grabbed Zeotora and clamped his teeth down on her upper arm. She screamed out as Hade bit down harder, the three other people in the room watched in disbelief as Hade protected Hidan by fighting fire with fire, with the possessed demon Zeotora.

The sudden assault caused Zeotora to let go of her prey and growl at the piercing pain that was shooting along her arm. "You little…" Now was when Zeotora lost it, she grabbed the back of Hades trousers and flipped him over, his back slammed into the ground and Zeotora's elbow smashed down into his stomach.

"You're gonna be sorry for biting me…" Zeotora warned.

Hade choked on the blood that had filled his mouth, he wiped some blood from his chin and met Zeotora's gaze with his own.

"You're gonna be sorry for biting Hidan…" Hade sat up and gripped Zeotora's messy hair, he smashed Zeotora's head straight into the ground. Hade stood up quickly and brought his leg back, he then kicked it forward aiming for Zeotora.

Hade was struck by something and the force pushed him into the wall. "Ow…" Hade grumbled as he felt the blood on the back of his head.

"Don't you EVER try to hurt her again, UNDERSTAND!" Hade looked up, shocked at who he saw. Kakuzu felt a smirk graced his lips and Kam just stared wide-eyed. Hidan was very weak but managed to chuckle slightly.

"It's about time you got here…" He mumbled, his vision was blurry and he couldn't identify the person by looks, but it was obvious to everyone who it was, the major give away was the tiny word, 'un' that ended the person's statement.

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Yay! I wonder who it is… If you haven't guessed it yet, it's Deidara.**_

_**I have to admit, this chapter was filled with loads of unexpected actions… hey, I just came up with an idea.**_

_**Okay, so this chapter has two questions, and they are…**_

_**Q5. Who's side were you on during the fights that occurred in this chapter? (Zeotora Vs Mimi, Zeotora Vs Hidan, Zeotora Vs Hade and Hade Vs Deidara)**_

_**Q6. Do you think I should change the name of this book to Unexpected Actions?**_

_**Don't forget to review because the next chapter is chapter 10, meaning that anyone and everyone who reviews has their name put at the beginning of the chapter, so get reviewing.**_

_**Anyway, since I finished this before I published chapter 8, that means I have a lot of time on my hands. I have also started and am almost finished chapter 10.**_

_**I'm gonna shut up now, see ya next time!**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	10. Teardrops On My Kunai

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**"Well, well, well… 10 chapters, eh? That is a major… achievement. Don't you think?"**_

_**Hey! What are you doing here? *random punches, kicks and thumps* Get outta here Orochimaru!**_

_***Clears throat* Sorry about that, Orochimaru kinda snuck in here while I wasn't looking.**_

_**Anyway, thank you to all my reviewers so far… **_

_**10 tailed demon cat dei lover**_

_**Niamh. rox101**_

_**Lakunawolf**_

_**Well there aren't many of you, but it's better than nothing! XP**_

_**"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Can I say it?"**_

_***sigh* Fine… go ahead Tobi…**_

_**"Yay! I now present chapter 10!" *jumps about* CLASH! *silence* "Ow… the floor attacked me…"**_

_***face palm***_

_**WARNING - This chapter has a major cry-fest, so make sure you have loads of tissues. I cried, while writing it. It is MAJOR sad.**_

**Chapter 10 - Teardrops On My Kunai**

Hade sat there, staring up at the blonde artist in front of him. They both scowled at each other.

"She was trying to kill Hidan!" Hade complained, his head was throbbing from the pain.

Deidara didn't say anything, he just looked down at the brunette through his angry, blue eyes. Even Deidara's palm-mouths could feel Deidara's anger, they were hissing and spitting, trying to aim all their anger at the tall male sat on the ground.

"Did you hear me? I said NEVER TRY TO HURT HER, UN!" Deidara clenched his fists, forcing his palm-mouths to shut up, but they still tried to hiss. Deidara was so furious he held his eyes closed, if he looked at the expression on Hade's face one more time, Deidara would surely explode.

Hade held a sense of accomplishment, at the fact that he had the power to beat a possessed ninja. That is what made Deidara sick to the stomach.

The fact that Hade was proud of himself made the whole situation worse. But that was not the only problem.

Zeotora was possessed by her blood-thirsty demon, the cannibalistic lion demon, the in-human, murderous, hungry demon.

The same demon that was slowly rising to her feet.

The same demon that was letting her eyes glide over the scene.

The same demon that was slowly stepping closer to her saviour.

The same demon that wasn't thinking of thanking her rescuer, but doing something much more suitable to her demonic nature.

Deidara kept his eyes closed, the image of Hade's proud face was burning into his mind, and all the young artist wanted was for it to go away, before he did something he would regret. But Deidara was so angry and unforgiving, that he didn't notice the blonde behind him, lifting her claws and preparing for a lethal attack.

Hade just sat there, watching Zeotora about to slice open the very person that just saved her. Hidan was too weak to say anything, he didn't even know what was going on, due to the fact that his vision was still blurry. Tobi and Kakuzu stared, praying that Zeotora wasn't going to do, what it looked like she was doing. Kam was too shocked to even manage a small whisper.

* * *

"_Zeotora, please wake up. I know you can't hear me but… I just want you to know, I never hated you, un."_

Zeotora froze, Deidara's voice was running through her head.

"_Thanks, this has been the best birthday ever, un."_

"_Zeotora. Please don't do this, un."_

"_Good to have you back, un."_

All these times that Deidara showed his emotions, without actually saying that he loved her. Right from the first day, he loved her, it was obvious that he was denying it, but for some reason. His words were getting to her.

"_Go back, Dei dei!"_

"_No, not until I say it, un."_

"_Say what?"_

"_That… I LOVE YOU!"_

That moment played over and over in Zeotora's mind. It didn't feel right, her head was hurting, the room started to spin and her legs were starting to go weak. But why?

Then a tinge of guilt panged in the back of her head as she remembered the conversation she and Deidara had yesterday.

"_I had to, you know me-"_

"_Do I? Sometimes it feels like I don't. When I think I know you, you go and do something, un! Like the time you blew up the hideout, or the time you tried to kill me, or what about the time you went and joined that… that bastard Orochimaru and then just left, un!"_

There were no words to describe the way Zeotora felt, she was guilty of causing a broken heart but she never meant it to happen. Zeotora stood frozen, she was in a trance. All the memories had made their way into her mind without even breaking the skin.

Then a light, soft smile formed on her bloodied lips, and tears welled in her eyes.

"_About what I said a couple of days ago… I meant it, un…"_

"Dei dei…" Zeotora said out loud.

Deidara turned around, the sound of his own name drew his attention to the Kunoichi behind him.

"I'm… I'm s-sorry…" Zeotora collapsed to her knees. All the anger that dwelled in Deidara's system, suddenly dissipated at Zeotora's words.

"Yea, you should be!" Deidara snapped at that point, he turned to face Hade, he stepped closer and grabbed the male by his shirt collar.

"If I were you, I would shut the hell up, un!" Deidara threatened.

"Now, now, play nice boys…" They both turned to see Zeotora, she was once again stood tall, the red glow shone in her eyes and she tutted, in a playful, yet mocking manner.

"Zeotora, un…"

"N-no. Get.. o-out…" Zeotora's voice was switching back and forth between her regular voice, and that demonic voice that belonged to the two-tails.

"Argh! Do you mind! I'm trying to take over your body!"

"I s-said… get, out of m-my body…" It was hard to tell who was winning. Zeotora's arms shot up and gripped her head, her legs were trembling and her body was fighting for control.

"L-leave… me… a-alone…" The demon growled and hissed. Zeotora had lived like this for too long, she shook her head from side to side. All everyone could do was watch and wait. One of Zeotora's hands disobeyed Zeotora's order as it let go of her head and hung down by her side. Everyone was watching Zeotora fight her own mind, it was heart-breaking to see her like this.

Zeotora suddenly let out a loud screech. Her hand let go of her head and lowered to rest onto of her other hand, which was now in a fist, pressed against her chest.

Deidara's eyes went wide, blood was running down from that fist, down her clothes and splashing onto the floor. Silver was visible from the gap between Zeotora's hand and her chest.

"Is that a… a…" Deidara stumbled.

"K-kunai…" Zeotora muttered, finishing Deidara's sentence. Zeotora suddenly collapsed, only to be caught by the blonde artist, that admired her so much.

"Why the hell did you just…" Deidara was getting choked up, he couldn't even finish his sentence, nothing on earth could bring him to say the words.

"Because… I, I d-don't want t-to live like th-that… anymore…" Zeotora said before coughing up blood. "Think of it… on the b-bright side, at least… you don't h-have to spend all d-day sealing away… the two-tails…" Zeotora let out a weak giggle.

"Zeotora, un…"

"C-can… you put me… b-beside Slick?" Zeotora asked, half whispering.

"Sure, just don't… leave us just yet, un." Zeotora smiled lightly. Deidara lifted her into his arms and set her down gently, beside the immortal, who was slowly regaining his strength.

"Hey, S-slick…"

"You don't sound to good, Twinkle." Hidan said, turning his head to face Zeotora. Zeotora copied his action, so they were facing each other.

"I know… I g-guess this is… finally it th-then…"

"I guess you're right… I'm gonna miss you."

"I n-never thought I w-would… die at th-the age of n-nineteen…" Zeotora muttered, the tears slowly running down her cheeks.

"To be honest, I thought you were eighteen."

"D-didn't I t-tell you… it's m-my birthday… t-today…" Zeotora said weakly as her eyelids got heavier.

"Zeotora! Don't you dare lose your eyes." Hidan said quickly.

"I… I can't h-help it… g-goodbye, S-slick…" Deidara kneeled down beside Zeotora, his own tears were soaking his shirt.

"Bye, Twinkle. I'll pray for you, everyday." Hidan felt his yes sting, as he said the words Zeotora listened, wanting to savour the sound of the Jashinist's voice.

"I love you Zeotora, un." Deidara said gently, making sure the girl heard him before she slipped into her eternal sleep.

"I… I l-love you… too, D-dei dei…" Zeotora use the last of her strength to smile her trademark grin, but the difference was the fact that her eyes didn't hold their usual sparkle. Her ocean, blue eyes slid closed softly, and her breath silenced.

"Zeotora… I, what…" Deidara couldn't believe his ears, and he didn't want Zeotora to die. "NO!"

"Night night Twinkle…" Hidan looked away, Zeotora wouldn't want Hidan to cry.

"Please, un… don't die!" Deidara pleaded, knowing it was too late, "Telling you how much I love you, is harder than trying to explain the taste of water, you can't just die, un! I love you, I NEED you, un!"

"She's not going to die." Everyone turned to look at Kakuzu, he pulled out a kunai and drove it into his own chest.

"What the hell are you doing!" Hidan asked.

Kakuzu grunted, "Deidara, out of the way!" Kakuzu knelt beside Zeotora, he pulled out both of the kunai, and began carving around Zeotora's heart, he removed it carefully.

"What are you doing, un?" Deidara shouted, horrified at the fact that Kakuzu was literally cutting out Zeotora's heart.

"I have five hearts, remember?" Kakuzu shouted back, "Now shut up and get me some cloth or something." Kakuzu carefully cut out one of his hearts and oh so carefully placed it into Zeotora's empty chest. He used some of his threads to secure the heart in Zeotora's heart box, making sure that everything was connected. Kakuzu carefully stitched everything back together.

* * *

Once he was finished with Zeotora's new heart, he stitched his own chest back up.

By this time, Hidan was strong enough to sit up, but he could barely stand. Zeotora had taken almost all his blood.

Hade walked over to the group, "How is she?" He asked cautiously.

"Why would you care, un?" Deidara said as he sat down beside Zeotora, she was laying there, motionless. "Are you sure it worked, un?" Deidara asked Kakuzu, not wanting to engage in conversation with Hade.

"No, I'm not sure, I have never preformed an operation like this before. So I have no idea if it is even possible for it to work." He replied coldly, trying not to show the emotions that made him hate Deidara.

Well, actually, he didn't hate Deidara, he was just jealous. But to Kakuzu, it was hate.

Zeotora's eyelids started to flicker. Everyone went silent and watched the blonde cautiously. She suddenly gasped in a huge amount of air, she breathed deeply and coughed as she tried to sit up.

"Woah, careful. You aren't strong enough yet." Kakuzu said gently, placing his hands on her shoulders and laying her back down again.

Zeotora's eyes were now open, she looked at Kakuzu wide-eyed and pushed his hands off of her. She leant away from him, and gave him a confused look.

"Zeotora? What's the matter?" Kakuzu asked, not knowing what was wrong.

After a few minutes of staring, Zeotora finally replied, "What? Who are you? And who's Zeotora?"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Did not see that coming…**_

_**Well actually I did since I wrote it, but I did cry while I was writing the death scene. When I was writing it I was thinking, "I would have to end the story if Zeotora died" So I made her come make to life again, but I did that before, when Kabuto strangled her.**_

_**So instead I decided to make it more OH MY GOD!**_

"_**It's, oh my JASHIN!" **_

_**-.- Shut up Hidan.**_

_**This chapter was written while listening to the song Teardrops on my guitar by Taylor Swift.**_

_**I have decided to stop with the questions, if you want them to come back, just let me know. **_

_**Anyway, don't forget to review and see ya next time.**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	11. All Over Again

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**OMG the last chapter was so dramatic and sad, I literally cried. **_

_**Thank you so much! I have read my reviews for Unexpected Bonds and Unexpected Curses, and I was jumping with joy!**_

_**I have a new reader! Yay!**_

_**Anyway, I don't have much to say other than…**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 11 - All Over Again**

"You're not serious?" Kakuzu asked, scared of what her answer might be, "You do remember us, don't you?"

Zeotora looked around at the people surrounding her, the look on her face stayed in a confused expression, "I haven't seen any of you before in my life." She said, "Where am I?"

"Zeotora, we are in Orochimaru's lair, do you remember anything?" Kakuzu said, a tinge of sadness came over him at the fact that Zeotora didn't remember them.

"What the hell is Orochimaru? And no, I can't say I do. Why do you keep calling me Zeotora? And who are you all?" Zeotora said, her eyes flickering over the faces that stared at her.

"Orochimaru is a ninja, this is his lair, don't you remember? You are Zeotora."

"What? I could've sworn I've never heard that name before, how could it be mine?"

"It is your name, and mine is Kakuzu." He said while trying to keep calm.

"I'm Hidan, you have to remember me, right? You always used to call me Slick. We are best friends." Hidan butted in, he wouldn't want her to forget him.

"I'm sorry, Hidan, I don't remember you, and why Slick? It's a kinda stupid nickname if you ask me." Hidan's violet eyes went wide, he couldn't believe she was actually saying that she didn't remember him.

"Miss Zeotora? You're scaring Tobi, why don't you remember us?" Tobi said as he sat beside Zeotora.

"Who's Tobi and why is everyone calling me Zeotora? Zeotora placed her hands on the ground and lifted herself to her feet. "What the hell am I wearing?" Zeotora looked down at her clothes, she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to cover the bare skin.

"It's your favourite outfit." Kam said, she placed a hand on Zeotora's shoulder. "You always wear it for your missions."

"Missions?" _Oh no…_

"Please, please tell me you remember being a ninja." Hidan rose to his feet and look into Zeotora's eyes.

"What are you talking about? Ninja? I'm a college student at Sunagakure Academy." Zeotora said, her confusion was just getting bigger and bigger, how did all these people know her and why did they think she was called Zeotora?

"Is that so?" Hade mumbled, "Well if you're not Zeotora, then what is your name?"

"Uh… well…" Zeotora thought for a moment, "I, uh… Wasurete." She said suddenly.

"Wasurete? Are you sure?" Hidan asked.

"Yes, I'm sure it is Wasurete… I think…" She mumbled the last bit.

"Should we head back then?" Kakuzu asked, he knew that Konan would probably find a reason for Zeotora's memory loss.

"Back? Back where? I'm sorry but I don't just go off with strangers, I'm going home." Zeotora complained, she got up and searched for a door, "Uh… how exactly do I get home?"

* * *

"Put me down!" Zeotora ordered, Hidan had her over his shoulder and was running top speed through the woods, Kakuzu, Tobi and Deidara were running with him. Hade and Kam were sent home, due to the fact that they weren't supposed to know anything about the Akatsuki.

"Let go of me!"

"Would you shut up, you're making it hard enough already." Hidan replied, he was rather pissed off at the fact that she didn't remember anything.

"No! I will not shut up! I don't appreciate some topless guy carrying me on his shoulder! Put me down, before I call the police!" Zeotora kicked and screamed, she honestly thought that these men were kidnapping her. "Help! Someone, HELP ME! I'm being kidnapped!"

Hidan sighed, he clamped his hand over her mouth. But Zeotora continued to scream and shout, trying to free herself from the immortal's grasp.

"ARGH!" Hidan suddenly shouted, "She bit me!" The Jashinist dropped Zeotora on the ground, earning himself a grunt of disapproval from Deidara.

"Huh? Oh right…" Zeotora looked up at Hidan, "Thanks… I'm gonna, leave now…" Zeotora climbed to her feet and turned around, she took a step. Then a hand was put on her shoulder.

"You can't leave, you have to come with us, un." Deidara said gently, he removed his cloak and gave it to Zeotora. She was still freaking out about her outfit being to 'revealing'.

"No, that's alright, keep your coat thing, I really need to get back…" Zeotora desperately tried to leave, but Deidara just placed the cloak over her shoulders and nodded to Kakuzu.

"Hey, what th- AH! Let me go!" Zeotora screamed as Kakuzu used his strings to hold Zeotora still. He lifted her off the ground and began walking. The others followed him as they headed back to the hideout.

* * *

"Pein-sama. We're back but we have a slight problem." Hidan called.

Their leader, along with Konan entered the room, they looked at Hidan and then to Kakuzu, who was frantically trying to get Zeotora to stop moving about so much.

Pein cocked his eyebrow, "I may be wrong, but didn't Zeotora quit? And by the look of things, you have brought her here against her will…"

"Yes, that is true, but we only brought her here, because there is something really wrong. She's lost her memory." Kakuzu confirmed.

"Well, if that's the case…" Pein turned to face his blue-haired companion, "Konan, can you take a look at her, see if anything has triggered this… problem." Konan nodded, she walked over to Kakuzu. The brunette released Zeotora and let his strings retreat back into his body. Zeotora shuddered, she eyed Kakuzu and wiped her clothes down.

"That is really creepy, you know that?" She stated, Konan took her hand and lead her down the hall. They both entered the make-up studio, Konan offered a seat to the blonde.

"Now, Kakuzu says that you have lost your memory." Konan sat down opposite Zeotora. "Do you know what your name is? Do you know how old you are? Do you remember what village you're from? What about your birthday?" Konan threw loads of questions at Zeotora, the purpose was to see if she could remember all the questions AND answers.

"Umm… My name is Wasurete, I'm 18, I come from the sand village and my birthday is… is… ermm…"

"That's fine, never mind the birthday." Konan stood up and reached into a drawer, she pulled out the small porcelain ornament. The bluenette gave the rose to Zeotora.

"What does this mean to you?" Konan asked, watching Zeotora closely.

"It's a rose… and it's kinda boring…" Zeotora replied, looking at the ornament and then handing it back.

After some time of Konan's questions and small tests, the Kunoichi emerged from the studio and walked slowly to join the other Akatsuki members.

"Konan, how bad is it?" Pein asked casually.

"Well, she doesn't know who she is, somehow, everything she used to know has been replaced by different details. Nothing I have done, has triggered he memory, but there is good news." Konan paused, she looked at the faces of her comrades, "I think I have found the cause of he memory loss. It seems to be some kind of overload, what happened on your mission?"

The four Shinobi explained everything that happened during their time in the land of tea.

"I see… when she was overcome by the demon, it must have put an awful lot of pressure on her brain. When she fought against the demon, it must have pushed her off of the default system of giving in to it… In other words, she had a mental break-down." Konan thought about everything that happened during the tests. But she was unaware of the presence of the blonde, stood behind the door, her ear was pressed o the dark wood and she was listening carefully.

The comrades all began talking about how they miss the old Zeotora, _Wasurete _pressed her ear closer to the door, to try and here clearer. Suddenly the door flung open, causing the blonde to tumble forward and crash land at Deidara's feet. Zeotora, oh sorry, _Wasurete _sat up and rubbed her aching head.

"Umm… sorry, I…" She stuttered, but silenced as something flicked across her mind.

"_Are you ok?"_

"_Th-thank you, Slick."_

"_I'm guessing that's my new nickname."_

"Huh? Slick?" Zeotora thought for a second, she slowly placed her hand on her side, "Slick!" The blonde climbed to her feet and ran to Hidan, she threw her arms around him, "I'm so sorry I didn't remember you! Of course we're best friends, how could I forget!" A smirk graced Hidan's lips as he hugged Zeotora back.

"Hm… I guess that being in a familiar situation brought back a certain memory…" Konan said to herself quietly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kakuzu agreed, "That morning, was the morning they became best friends. It's strange how she doesn't remember Deidara though…" An evil thought floated into Kakuzu's mind, _If I can get her to remember the good times with me and make sure she never remembers Deidara, there is no doubt I will have her to myself… _

A slight chuckle escaped his mouth, _I will bring back her memories as soon as possible… and I know the perfect memory…_

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Wow! What is Kakuzu going to do, I wonder…**_

_**Just kidding, I know exactly what he's going to do! HAHA I love being in control of their universe XP**_

_**Don't forget to review and feel free to ask any questions about practically anything XP**_

_**See ya next time!**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	12. My First Kiss Went A Little Like

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hiyaz!**_

_**I am really sorry that it took so long to write this chapter, I was lacking motivation and my other story What Happens When No One's Around was really making it hard to write this book, due to the scenes with Zeotora. Plus, school has started again and i have loads of homework and other things that take up my time, also I recently got my injections, so it's kinda hard to type.**_

_**Anyway, the other night I decided on the PERFECT ending for this book, so yes, this book will be ending soon. *sniffles* **_

_**Well, I hope you like this chapter, it's not very good, but at least it's a chapter.**_

_**Don't forget to review, Enjoy!**_

_**By the way, this chapter was written while listening to the song My first kiss, by Kesha ft. 3OH!3**_

**Chapter 12 - My First Kiss Went A Little Like...**

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream echoed through the entire hideout, waking up each and every Akatsuki member.

"Wait, Zeotora what's wrong?" **"Why are you screaming?"**

"AAAAHHHHH GET AWAY FROM ME! SLICK! HELP!" Zeotora screamed at the top of her lungs, she backed into a wall and started waving her arms in the air to try and keep Zetsu away from her. Then Hidan walked in, his hair was slightly ruffled and he barely had his eyes open.

"What is it?" The Jashinist grumbled, he hated being woken up this early.

"HELP ME!" Zeotora screamed once more, she then ran over and hid behind Hidan, "IT'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"

Hidan merely rolled his eyes and slowly explained to Zeotora, "Zetsu isn't trying to kill you, he's your friend..."

"FRIEND?" Zeotora screamed. "HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?" At this point, she was completely freaking out. She didn't understand how she had made friends with such a strange creature that apparently went by the name Zetsu.

"Aw please shut up... it's too early..." Hidan grumbled while rubbing his eyes.

"Hmpf!" Zeotora said as she folded her arms and turned her head, this just resulted in Hidan rolling his violet eyes and trudging back to his room.

"WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Zeotora screeched as she ran after the grumpy Jashinist, "WAIT! SLICK!"

"Let him sleep..." Zeotora turned to the source of the voice, "You can stay with me, I'll protect you..." The blonde raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

"No way! You're that creepy old guy with all those gross tentacle things," she stated bluntly.

Kakuzu sighed and hung his head low, he didn't show it, but that insult hurt really bad. "You don't need to be so mean about it..." The brunette mumbled as he walked to the kitchen.

"Hey Zeo- I mean, Wasurete!" Deidara called as he ran over to the young girl, "I bought you some sweets -un." he smiled and handed the small paper bag to Zeotora.

"Oh cool! Thanks, uh..." She thought for a moment, "Ummm... D... uh.. De... hmmmmmm..." The girl let out a frustrated grunt as she tried to remember the boy's name.

"Deidara..."

"That's the one! Heehee sorry... I'm no good with names..." Zeotora scratched the back of her head as she grinned cheekily. The infatuated bomber smiled lightly, he was subconsciously fiddling with the sleeve of his cloak and he didn't even notice the dazed feeling in the back of his mind. All he could feel was the echoing thump of his heart, beating steadily in the silence.

"Oh yum! My favourite!" Zeotora grabbed a book and ran to the couch, she slumped down into the corner and flicked to the right page. She then began to read silently, while nibbling on the stick of liquorice. Once again, the teenager was completely unaware of the motley eyes watching her.

The brunette watched as the innocent girl chewed on her sweets. She devoured the liquorice gradually and licked the remains from her soft lips. Zeotora then began eating her way through the other treats, first the bonbons, then the chocolate mice, then she slowly chewed on the jelly sweets, and finally she dipped her finger in the sherbet at the bottom of the bag. Whilst the whole time, Kakuzu watched with wide eyes. He couldn't resist it anymore, he just had to bring back her memories.

"Hey Zeotora," Kisame walked over to the girl, who remained entranced in her book.

"Wasurete." The blonde didn't even look up from her book, she just turned the page and continued reading.

"Oh right, sorry. Wasurete, do you want to go on a picnic with me and Itachi, for old time's sake." The blue skinned male asked. Zeotora thought for a moment, she then looked up from her book.

"Sure I guess, even though I don't recall actually ever going on a picnic with you... but I'd love to anyway." Zeotora grinned. Kisame smiled back, even though he hardly understood what the girl said.

* * *

"Well, this sucks..."

The thunder cracked and the rain poured down, Zeotora, Itachi and Kisame stood under the bleachers, trying to shelter themselves from the rain.

Kisame looked at the ground, he was looking forward to the picnic but now it was ruined, Itachi merely sighed.

"Aw c'mon, when's it gonna stop raining?" Zeotora complained, she was soaked and she seemed to be getting a cold. The blonde rubbed her nose and sniffled, "A... a... a... ACHOO! ... oops... sorry..." Zeotora apologized and rubbed her nose once more. Kisame laughed at the face Zeotora made when she sneezed. It was somewhere between an Elvis Presley impression and an opera singer. Kisame found it hilarious.

_"You know, Itachi is still confused about his nickname, what made you call him Sunshine?"  
__"I dunno, I suppose it's because he's the opposite of sunshine, that makes it easy to remember..."  
__"Good point"_

_"How the hell did you do that?"  
__"Do what?"  
__"Get the butterfly to stay in your hand!"  
__"Well, I just caught it... and it stayed..."_

"Umm Wasurete? Are you ok?" Kisame asked, he was slightly concerned. Zeotora was just staring off into the distance, she shook her head and blinked a few times.

"Oh my god... Butterfly boy! Sunshine!" Zeotora pulled Kisame and Itachi into a tight hug. Kisame smiled, ignoring the fact that he could hardly breathe, due to the tight grip of the girl. The Uchiha let Zeotora have her moment and then stood up straight once more, he still showed no emotional response. Even though he felt a wave of relief that he was remembered.

After a while, the group headed back to the hideout, they were completely soaked but they did make an achievement.

"Hey guys! We're back!" Zeotora called out, by this time Hidan was half awake and Kakuzu was officially pissed off.

"Wow... you look like group of drowned rats..." Hidan laughed, then he look at Itachi, "Oh sorry... a group of drowned rats AND a drowned weasel..." Itachi growled at the zealot and trudged to his room, Kisame followed and the two disappeared down the hall. Zeotora looked down, then shook her whole body.

"Hey! Watch it!" Hidan complained, he wasn't in the mood to be soaked.

"Haha sorry..." Zeotora apologized and went to find a towel.

"Here." Kakuzu held out a baby blue towel. Zeotora stared at him for a moment before slowly taking the towel.

"Uhhh... thanks..." Zeotora turned slowly and ran off to her room, well, they told her it was her room. Only she didn't really remember it actually belonging to her.

The blonde closed the door and peeled off her lilac tank top, then her jeans. She dried off her now freezing body, but she couldn't ignore the feeling of something being really wrong. Zeotora turned slowly and looked at the door, which was now slowly opening. The girl gritted her teeth and growled, "ARGH! TOBI YOU BAKA! GET OUT!" Zeotora ran for the door and slammed it shut, Tobi was sent flying into the wall. And then Zeotora remembered.

After getting dried off and putting on dry clothes, Zeotora ran out and wrapped her arms around Tobi. "I missed you!"

Tobi hugged Zeotora back, lifting her off the ground in the process. "Tobi missed Miss Zeotora!"

"WASURETE!"

"Oops... Miss Wasurete!" They both laughed and made their way to the living room, they both watched TV. And after Tobi fell asleep, Zeotora got up to get a drink but she never expected to be pinned against the wall and a pair of lips to be pressed against her own...

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Ok, I know that things seem to be speeding up, but that's only because I want to finish this story soon and I'm finding it hard to put much detail into this chapter, due to my writer's block, which in fact is still standing it's ground...**_

_**I will be writing the next chapter very soon, and I'm sorry for the hold up, I just seem to be thinking of LOADS of new stories, so.. BE PATIENT!**_

_**See ya next time, and don't forget to review!**_

_**Laterz**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	13. Is Remembering Good Or Bad?

_**Author's Notes**_

_**'Sup people!**_

_**That's right, I'm back. And I have yet another chapter for ya!**_

_**I'm kinda pissed off right now, and I'm a bit tired, so I apologize in advance for any scenes in this chapter that either don't make sense or seem overly violent.**_

_**By the way, I'm having trouble with the ending, I came up with two endings which would be AWESOME! But... I can't decide which one to use...**_

_**So, I'm sorry if some chapters take longer to publish than others.**_

_**Anyway, I'm gonna shut up now and let you people read.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 13 - Is Remembering Good Or Bad?**

Zeotora stood in complete shock, her wrists were pinned to the wall and it was practically impossible for her to move. The blonde closed her eyes tightly, in hope that when she opened them again, this feeling of familiarity would all go away...

"_Don't be frightened, it's only me..."  
_"_That's not exactly an upside, and who said anything about me being frightened?"  
_"_I can tell... by that look in your eyes... heh..."  
_"_Wait! What are you doing? Get off of me!"_

Zeotora's eyes shot open and she struggled to get the taller male to let go, but to no avail. She squirmed and tried to free herself, but only managed to separate hers and the brunette's lips.

"Ah! No! Get away Orochimaru!"

Out of pure instinct, Kakuzu let go and stepped back. Zeotora slowly slid to the ground as she was overwhelmed by tears, she covered her face and brought her knees to her chest. The room was almost completely pitch black, apart from the TV which remained flickering on no particular channel. It made the brunette jump slightly when the light was flicked on and his eyes were bombarded by the brightness.

"What the hell happened?"

Kakuzu turned to look at Pein, who had obviously been startled by the ex-member's name. Also with him was Hidan, he was covered in blood and open wounds, which obviously meant that he was disturbed during a ritual. The brunette tried to speak, but no words would come out, then Deidara ran in.

"What's wr-" Deidara's gaze fell to Zeotora, who was sat her arms wrapped around her knees, her face hidden but the tears were obvious. She was shaking like a leaf and the only person that looked like they could have caused this, just so happened to be standing right in front of them. The artist's blue eyes narrowed and fixed on the older male, he glared at Kakuzu and clenched his fists.

"You... YOU BASTARD!" Deidara lunged forward, grabbing Kakuzu's collar and slamming him against the wall, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" The rage was clear. Deidara was really, really pissed off now.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!" Kakuzu was panicking, he was still confused and shocked that Zeotora said Orochimaru's name and not his.

"He's lying..."Everyone looked at Tobi, he now stood in the doorway, his arms folded and a, not so cheerful, aura surrounded him. "He kissed her... against her will, " Tobi slowly walked over and crouched down beside Zeotora, he gently placed his hand on her back and tried to comfort the, still shaking, young girl.

"She's not Zeotora anymore! She can't handle the pressure of something like that! -un," Deidara growled and brought his fist back and went to punch Kakuzu, but just as his fist was a few mere centimetres from Kakuzu's soon to be bruised jaw...

"D..don't..."

All eyes turned towards Zeotora, she was looking up at Deidara. Her blue eyes seemed to be duller, her cheeks were stained with tears and she had stopped shaking slightly. She took a deep breath.

"I didn't mean to scream, I'm sorry..." Zeotora pulled herself together and stood up.

"Sorry? -un," Now Deidara was officially confused, "Why should you be sorry?"

"I made all of you panic because of a little thing like this," Zeotora gave a light smile, though it was obvious that there was something she wasn't telling them, "It's no big deal, honestly."

Pein folded his arms, "If it's no big deal, then why were you crying? And why did you say Orochimaru's name?" Zeotora took in a quick, sharp breath.

She looked down at the ground and tried to calm herself down, "Well, I... I remember who Orochimaru is..." Zeotora closed her eyes lightly and took slow breaths, "And I remember what happened... when I worked for him..."

Deidara hesitantly let go of Kakuzu's collar, his eyes fill with concern, "What did he do to you? -un,"

"He..." Zeotora fought back the tears, "h..he... he took away everything!" The blonde clenched her fists as an angry frown formed on her face, "That bastard! He stole EVERYTHING from me! He said it would give me power, but he lied! He tricked me!" Zeotora slammed her fist into the wall, causing a huge dent and a number of large cracks, the creamy wall slowly cracked and crumbled away, "He took my brother! He took my innocence!" Zeotora grinded her teeth and looked up at the Akatsuki members surrounding her, "He took my very freedom... now it's time for payback..."

A evil grin slowly emerged on Zeotora's face, and a glint shone in her sky blue eyes, "Ladies and Gentlemen... Zeotora Yakushi is back!"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**OMG! I don't mean to brag or anything, but you have to admit that the last line was AWESOME! **_

_**And I bet you never expected her to remember Orochimaru! So, HA! IN YOUR FACE! *cough* Sorry about that... my inner self kinda found its way to the surface heehee...**_

_**Oh yeah, sorry if this chapter seems kinda short, but the next chapter make up for it XP**_

_**Anyway, please review and yes, yes my writer's block is mostly your fault Hannah! Haha you know I love you... (not in that way PERVS!)**_

_**See ya in the next chapter, which is almost complete!**_

_**Laterz**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	14. Returned And Reborn

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Didn't I say? Didn't I tell you that this chapter was almost finished? Well now it is! XP**_

_**Ok, I'm not gonna say much except...**_

_**After this chapter, things start to get a bit confusing, yet they sorta start to make sense... that's all I'm going to say, that's it!**_

_**Anyway, I'm happy to say that I have finally, FINALLY destroyed my writer's block! WOOHOO! (heroic Lee/Gai pose)**_

_***cough* You didn't see anything...**_

_**Ok, thanks for the reviews and Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 14 - Returned And Reborn**

Zeotora stood in her old room, the walls were dusty and seemed darker than she remembered, the blinds were closed, her once creamy white desk was now covered in doodles and coffee cup stains, the fluffy rug had little bits and pieces stuck within it and there were kunai dents in the floor boards. The bed wasn't made up, and the fleece blankets were folded up and in the corner of the wardrobe. So much had changed since she last stood here, knowing everything that had happened.

Clothes and personal nick-knacks were spread across the floor and on the bed. Zeotora pulled on her usual black outfit, it seemed like ages since she last wore it. But there was a problem...

It didn't fit her anymore!

"Oh that's just great... huh?" Her crystal gaze then fell upon the outfit which lay folded beside her pillow. The navy blue baggy trousers, the matching blue top with white material to be tied around her waist. Zeotora thought for a moment, she bit her lip and then grabbed the outfit and put it on. But... she made some minor adjustments.

The blonde used a kunai and her sewing skills to turn the top into a belly top, the trousers were altered to sit lower on her hips, while the white material was cut and sewed into a new pair of fingerless gloves.

Zeotora left her bangs over her eyes and used a strip of white material to tie the rest of her, now medium length, hair into a high, tufty ponytail. Her headband was tied loosely around her neck and she made sure she had an uncountable amount of weapons. The teenage girl checked herself over in the mirror, the wound on her shoulder was completely healed and the bruised that was once on her side, was no more.

"Huh? What the..." Zeotora stepped closer to the mirror and looked closely at her own eyes. Her eyes were clearly still blue, only now they were duller and her pupils were thin, vertical lines, plus the outline of her irises were glowing with a luminous red. The Kunoichi sighed and flicked her hair out of her face slightly, she grabbed a few extra things, then left the room.

* * *

"Pein-sama,"

The redhead stood up from his seat at the kitchen table and walked over to Zeotora, he noticed the change in the girl's demeanour immediately. Her eyes weren't their usual bright, young or cheeky, neither were they mature or thin. They sat somewhere in between the two usual descriptions. The girl's hair was also a brighter blonde, usually it would be a fair, light blonde, but now it seemed more wild and reckless.

"You once said that I would always have a place in this organisation," the blonde began, "I wish for nothing more than to go on this mission, I also wish to go alone. My reason for saying this is because I may not come back..." While she was talking, Zeotora stood tall, her hands behind her back and her expressionless, stoic mask seemed to hide the past that she obviously didn't want to ever go through again.

"Zeotora, I can't stop you from going and I technically can't tell you what to do, " Pein sighed, then continued. "But I can ask you to try and stay alive, because we would all truly miss you... you've made a massive impact on all of us, it would be a terrible shame to see you leave us again,"

Zeotora gave a solemn nod, "I can't make any promises," the girl bowed her head slightly, as a sign of respect and turned to leave.

"You're not going alone! -un," Deidara stood in the doorway, making it impossible to get past.

"Deidara, please... I need to do this, " Zeotora kept completely calm and her voice never once rose from it's usual tone.

"Not alone, you're not -un, we're coming with you!" The bomber placed his hands on either side of the doorframe, creating more of a blockade.

"We?"

Pein raised an eyebrow, yet again, Zeotora picked up on the tiniest detail and by doing so, managed to catch Deidara off guard.

"Uh... yeah, well-"

"We wanna come as well," Hidan butted in. Stood beside him was Tobi and Kakuzu, even though he was obviously still uncomfortable from the earlier situation.

"No, " Zeotora's blunt response didn't fail to get the four males' hopes down, "It's too dangerous, I have to do this alone, plus it's my revenge, not yours..."

"Revenge... huh..." Zeotora looked towards Kakuzu, he seemed to be fixated on that one word, "You know, we all deserve some revenge... Orochimaru fooled us into trusting him, he made us believe in a false sense of security, then he betrayed us, stabbed us in the back and tried to use us against one another... we deserve this as much as you do," Kakuzu's motley eyes looked into Zeotora's dull blue pair, he seemed to freeze temporarily, he then swallowed down a lump and carried on, "Plus, there's no sense in turning us down, you need all the help you can get if you want someone to fight off any distractions,"

Zeotora took a breath, Kakuzu was right, they did want and need this too.

"Fine, you can come, but on one condition... I get to kill the bastard myself," Zeotora stated blankly, the males all nodded, then Zeotora turned to look at Pein.

Their leader sighed and slumped down into his seat once more, "Fine, just go, there's no stopping you anyway..."

"Oh... Zeotora..."

"Huh? Yes, Deidara, what is it?" Zeotora asked casually.

"Well... we wanted to show you how much we missed you and how much you mean to us all, so..." Deidara was hiding something behind his back, he wasn't looking Zeotora in the eyes, so it must have been important.

"For Jashin's sake, just give it to her!" Hidan folded his arms and waited for Deidara to give whatever it was to Zeotora.

"Well, ok..." Deidara slowly pulled a black, folded item from behind his back, he held it with both arms and gently brushed the top and held it out to the younger girl. Zeotora observed the object and tried to figure out what it could be, she slowly reached out her hand and took the item into her arms. The Kunoichi held it up by the ends and let it unfold.

"Wait... is this a..." Zeotora blinked and looked to Deidara, he was watching Zeotora cautiously, "You mean... I can have this? But I couldn't... I mean..."

Deidara smiled softly, though he watched like a hawk, just in case, "It was my Danna's... un," the bomber smiled at the memory of his best friend and fellow artist, "But we decided that you need a cloak, and well... I thought you could have Sasori's..."

"Wow... thanks Deidara, I know how much this must mean to you... I mean, you respect him more than anyone," Zeotora held the cloak to her chest and gave a soft, warm smile, "this means a lot..." Zeotora carefully slid the cloak on, it almost fit perfectly! And it actually really suited her, Zeotora gently ran her fingers over the material and gave Deidara a nod of thanks, she then cracked her knuckles, "Ok, let's hurry up and find that snake, I want this to be the best revenge of a lifetime..." The males all nodded in agreement and exited the hideout after saying a quick goodbye to their comrades.

* * *

"Deidara, please keep up or we'll leave you behind," Zeotora warned, though she didn't seem emotionally connected to her words.

"Oh right, sorry -un," Deidara shook his head and caught up with his fellow ninja, he couldn't help but imagine that it was actually Sasori running right there in front of him, it was almost like he was dreaming...

The five of them had been running for 3 hours now, Zeotora was running at the front, Tobi was running right beside her, Hidan was behind Tobi and Kakuzu was just beside Hidan, while Deidara ran at the very back of the group.

Suddenly, Zeotora stopped dead in her tracks.

"_Hahahahahaha you can't catch me!"_

"_Wanna bet? Hahaha!" The children screamed and laughed as they ran around the small village, the playground was filled with laughter and childish games, though one boy sat on his own watching everyone playing and having fun, while he could only remember the screams of those close to him._

_A young girl skipped over and gleefully grinned at him._

"_Hi there, what's your name?"_

The Kunoichi took a few seconds to clear her head of all these distant memories that played in her mind, she then rose to her feet and signalled for them to carry on. Though, she couldn't help but remember that one day...

"_Wow, that's a nice name!" The young girl replied._

"_Uh thanks... what's yours?" The boy asked timidly._

"_Umm... I don't actually have a name, why don't you pick one for me!" The young girl giggled and sat down beside her new friend._

"_Ok... well, I have always liked this one name..."_

Before the group even realized, they had reached the place where Orochimaru was said to be hiding. Zeotora scanned the area and quickly devised a plan, she knelt down and gave everyone their orders.

"Ok... does everyone understand?"

They all nodded.

"Good, because this is a complicated and precise plan, if any of us screw up we're as good as dead, got it?"

They all nodded once more.

"Right, everyone into position, Tobi you go that way," Zeotora said as she pointed in the direction of what looked like a back entrance, "Kakuzu, you take out the guards, and don't. make. a sound." Kakuzu nodded to show is understanding, "Hidan, you don't make your move until I give you the signal, and Deidara..." the girl turned to the final comrade, "We're gonna do this with style..." A sly smile spread across Zeotora's face as she eyed the pouch on Deidara's belt.

Deidara gave a smirk as he opened the zip and let his palm-mouth consume some of the clay, then mould it into the wanted sculpture and he then preformed his jutsu. The artist climbed aboard his clay bird and helped the Kunoichi up, the group nodded to each other and the blonde boy let his creation fly up into the sky.

After a few mere seconds, they were flying close tot he clouds.

"Ok Deidara..." Zeotora waited for the perfect timing, "Now!"

Deidara immediately sent his bird flying, vertically, towards the small building. Zeotora and Deidara pressed themselves as close to the bird as possible to help build up speed, Zeotora watched as Kakuzu knocked out the guards with his metal briefcase. The blonde then pulled out a kunai and threw it almost aimlessly, it flew straight into the tree which Hidan was stood beside, he then began to charge forward.

"Zeotora, get down -un..." Deidara placed his hand on the Kunoichi's back and pushed down, causing the two of them to press as closer to the masterpiece, Zeotora subconsciously gripped Deidara's sleeve in one hand as she looked away to shield her eyes, Deidara kept his eyes open and waited for the art to emerge from this crazy idea.

All of time seemed to suddenly slow down as the image of blood and the dead bodies of the Akatsuki flashed through Zeotora's mind, and the ground came steadily closer. She opened her eyes at the last moment to see the giant explosion caused by the impact of the clay bird as it crashed straight into the lair, of which their target lay hidden within...

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Wow... talk about tension building...**_

_**Yea, I know... it's kinda confusing and yes there is a hint in there, actually... there is a couple of hints as to how this story could end... But I'm not telling ya! **_

_**Anyway, thanks for the reviews and thank Jashin I finally defeated that evil block!**_

_**See ya some other time!**_

_**Laterz**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	15. The Pain Of Letting Go

**Author's Notes**

**Yo!**

**Uuuunnggghhh... I'm dying today, I have a really bad tummy ache, and I'm really tired, plus I did a really stupid thing in Science class the other day...**

**Well, let's just say you should NEVER smell burnt magnesium... **

**Anyway, I still managed to write chapter 15 for you guys, and I know how curious you are about the little flashback Zeotora had... (looks at Emily... sorry, I couldn't help it, I kinda stalked your profile heehee...) And I'm just gonna say that things get alot more confusing before they make sense...**

**Oh yeah, there are quite a lot of flashbacks in this chapter, but that's only because the story is meant to be like dejavou (I know it's spelt wrong)**

**Ok, let the dramatic storyline commence!**

**PS this chapter was inspired by the song Die Another Day by Madonna**

**Chapter 15 - The Pain Of Letting Go**

_"Hahahaha you're such a loser!"_

_"You don't have any friends!"_

_"Wah! Wah! Poor little loner boy hahahaha!" The children laughed and threw small stones at the young boy as he sat quietly, trying to ignore the bullies that made fun of him at every possible chance. One of the older boys threw a slightly larger stone, hitting the friendless boy in the temple of his head, he fell to the floor and held his hand to his head, tears in his eyes._

"_Oh look! The little baby is gonna cry! Hahahaha!" After humiliating and injuring the six year old, they left to go play football and other games._

"_Are you ok?" The little girl slowly walked over and helped her friend up, "They're such big meanies!"_

_The injured boy looked at the slightly younger girl with watery, dark eyes, "W..why didn't you help me when they said I didn't have any friends?"_

Zeotora quickly climbed to her feet and looked around, a dark dust cloud had swarmed around the site of impact making it hard to see or breathe. She shook the dirt from her blonde hair, then spun round quickly upon hearing a noise.

Deidara was on all fours, coughing and wheezing, trying to clear the dust from his lungs. His blue eyes seemed to glow through the dusty air that surrounded them, he looked up at Zeotora with a look that could almost eat through anyone's heart. Zeotora took a quick breath, then turned and ran further into the dark lair, leaving Deidara behind.

Yep, she had definatly changed.

The passage was narrow, dark and seemed to be endless, but the Kunoichi kept running further and further. Nothing could stop her from tasting the sweet taste of revenge. Nothing.

Zeotora smirked as she quickly recovered the memories of this very maze-like hallway. She had walked down this very path many times when she worked for Orochimaru, therefore she knew all the traps set out, for security reasons. This was going to be fun...

Zeotora leaped over the trap door, leading to a series of deadly, poisonous snakes.

"_Hahahaha! Wow, you're really good at sports!" The little boy called out to his friend as she jumped over the set out hurdles._

The blonde ran, avoiding all dead ends and false turns.

"_Oh no! We're lost..." The boy scratched his head and looked around._

"_No we're not, silly! The exit is right over... here!" The two kids held hands and ran out of the maze together, proud of their teamwork._

She ducked below the swinging axe, without even looking back.

"_Hey... do you think they're gone?" The little girl asked._

"_Let me check..." He poked his head over the top of the table._

"_There he is!" Stones and hard objects were thrown towards the boy, hitting him and injuring him once more._

The Kunoichi ran faster, managing to avoid the attention of the guards.

"_Quick! Run!" The girl grabbed her friend's hand and ran, they both kept out of the bullies' sight, though they knew they wouldn't be safe for long._

"_Why... do they keep... picking on me?" The boy whispered while panting._

"_I don't know, but we have to hide. The best way to destroy your enemy is to know what they will do next!" _

She then suddenly stopped in her tracks.

QWA-CHING! _**(A/N I know, my sound effects are weird)**_

Zeotora stood completely motionless. Large, sharp spikes had emerged from the ceiling, floor and both walls, blocking all ways of exit, trapping Zeotora within. The blonde had saved her own life by freezing on the spot, if she had kept running, the spikes would have gone straight through her.

The teenage girl's feet were mere millimetres from the spikes, her hands were slim enough to slide just between the spikes, without touching then and her posture was just about able to stay the tiniest bit out of reach of the tips of the deadly, metal tips. Zeotora quickly worked out her next move and the possibilities of how much risk that she would have to take.

"_Hmmm... argh! I'm really bad at maths!" The boy complained as he tried to work out his homework._

"_Here let me help," The younger girl looked over the homework and grabbed the pencil, "Look, if you do it like this..." She scribbled down a couple of numbers and a simplified version of the sum, "See! It's simple, heehee..."_

1% chance of escape without injury.

9% chance of escape with injury.

12% chance of escape then death due to fatal injuries.

78% chance of no escape, but a slow, painful death...

These were no ordinary metal spikes, they were made from Sky Iron, the most powerful metal known to mankind, it's completely unbreakable. Plus, they were covered in a deadly poison known as Fuyóna-shi. Zeotora had trained in Medical Nin-jutsu, she would be able to create the perfect antidote before the poison took effect if she had the right ingredients. But she didn't have the ingredients and she couldn't waste anymore time.

She only had one option at this point, and hell yeah she was gonna do it!

Zeotora moved her arm slightly, pressing it against the side of the spike. She bit her lip as the poison ate through her skin and slowly started to work its way into her muscles. She moved her leg, letting the toxic substance get to work on her leg and foot, Zeotora took a quick slight gasp as she felt the cold metal pierce through the skin on her back and the poison ooze into her body, burning and eating away at her flesh. She held in all the pain and after a few seconds, which seemed like hours, of torture...

"AAAHHHHHH!" The scream echoed through the halls, causing everything to shake and rumble. The walls and ceiling started to crumble and give Zeotora a bit of space to escape, she quickly jumped and dodged her way out of the dangerous area as it all collapsed.

When Zeotora had finally made it out of the crumbling area, she kept running, blood dripping from the open flesh wounds, which were still covered in in poison. She ignored the pain, as usual. Zeotora was the master at disguising her pain, she masked her weakness in every mission she was sent on, after all, she was used to being used for her strength and being ignored when she was injured. Why should this be any different? It wasn't a huge injury, just a flesh eating poison in her open wounds. _**(A/N hint the sarcasm)**_

Driven by anger, bloodlust and vengeance, Zeotora pushed on running faster and faster, she was determined to get the revenge she deserved. Soon, the pain was nothing more than a slight sting as Zeotora's eyes were enveloped by the light that shone from this new, simpler corridor.

_"C'mon, this way..." The children held hands as they walked through the darkness, the little boy shivering with fear and the girl excited due to the adventure._

_"Aww, you two are so cute..."_

_The two spun round and looked through the darkness, trying to see where the voice had come from._

Zeotora's dull eyes narrowed at the memory. The Kunoichi growled as she kicked down the large, brown, oak door.

_"No! Get away from him, he's dangerous!" The little girl pulled at the boy's hand trying to pull him, away from the older man._

_"My, what a cute little sister you have..."_

_"Sh..she's not my sister... she's my best friend..." The boy corrected timidly._

"_My mistake.." The man smiled down at the small boy._

"_H..how can you see her?"_

Zeotora let her eyes drift to the pale man sat in a thrown-like chair. _Orochimaru..._

"Why Zeotora, it's so nice of you to drop by and visit me..."

"Shut up!" The blonde charged over and grabbed the snake by his collar, she had one knee on the arm of the chair and Orochimaru was pushed forcefully against his _thrown._, his neck dangerously close to the pointed edge of the wood.

"Hm... seem angry, is it by any chance that Itachi Uchiha's fault? Because if it is, I would completely understa-"

"Shut the hell up, you bastard!" Zeotora slammed Orochimaru's head against the chair, causing a dribble of blood to leak from the back of his head. She narrowed her eyes further and glared at the older man, her eyes pulsing red. A sly smile emerged across the snake's face, an evil glint in his eyes.

"Bastard? Hm.. I don't remember you being this rude..."

"Well, it's been a long time since I actually remembered what you did to me..." The blonde returned the gesture of playing it cool, though she was overwhelmed with rage on the inside.

"Ah... now that was a long time ago..." Orochimaru's smile grew wider as he remember that day.

"Yeah I know, it was 10 years ago... when I was 9!" She couldn't hold it back any longer, she punched Orochimaru straight in the jaw, causing blood to stain his cheek and her knuckles. Zeotora then pulled out a kunai and held it to Orochimaru's neck.

The snake tutted, "You really haven't learned much, you don't possibly think you could kill me with such a... little... weapon..."Orochimaru's voice trailed off and his eyes widened as a drip of blood fell from the tip of the kunai, it appeared to be a darker material than other ordinary kunai, and the blood seemed to be coming from no where.

"You... you couldn't have mastered _that_ jutsu..." Orochimaru's heart sped up as he began to panic, _how could she have learnt it that quick?_

"Oh, this time you're wrong..." The blood dripped onto Orochimaru's shirt and slowly spread through the fabric in a precise, thick line. It crawled its way up to Orochimaru's neck, his eyes widened further as he felt the warm blood slowly turn to a cold metal and wrap around his pale neck. "This time... I win..."

"_Run! Quick!" The girl screamed to her friend as they ran through the maze-like halls. She tripped over her laces and slammed straight into the ground, twisting her ankle in the process._

"_Huh?" The boy turned and went to help the girl up._

"_No! Keep running! You have to get out!" The younger girl gestured for the boy to keep running, her eyes were wide with fear and the blood trickled from her nose and forehead._

"_I can't leave you behind!"_

"_Yes you can! You have to! Go before he catches you!" The girl kept checking to see if the snake-like man was coming, "Just go!"_

"_I don't want to!" The boy felt the tears well up in his eyes as he looked at the heartbreaking expression on his best friend's face, he then swallowed hard and turned to leave, "I'll miss you..." The tears ran down his pale cheeks._

"_I'll miss you too, now go!" The girl was practically screaming at the young boy now, she didn't want anything bad to happen to the only person who ever cared about her._

_The boy began running as fast as he could, he turned to watch the figure of the girl slowly get smaller and disappear out of sight, he mumbled her name as he ran, her sad face in his mind, "Wasurete..."_

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**OMG I can't believe how many flashbacks there were in this chapter!**_

_**I know, everything is really confusing, but I promise it will all make sense soon enough.**_

_**Anyway, don't forget to review and I will publish the next chapter as soon as it's finished XP**_

_**Until then, bye! (waves)**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	16. Pure Hate And Raw Tears

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Yo!**_

_**Ok, today I'm not gonna talk too much, because I have written what I think has to be one of my best chapters.**_

_**Well, it took me three days to write this chapter INCLUDING school time, so yea... I started it in History, on Monday, worked on it in Technology and Art, then on Tuesday I did it in Science, Drama and English. And on Wednesday (today) I managed to get most of it done in pretty much ALL of my classes.**_

_**Anyway, I wasn't meant to be talking that much ,but now it looks like I have written more Author's notes than I usually do.. Oops... my bad XP**_

_**Ok, I'm gonna shut up now...**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 16 - Pure Hate And Raw Tears**

_"A heart torn two ways cannot foresee the darkness looming over what once was known as love..." The blonde walked back and forth in her room, reading over one of her favourite poems, it was all she could do and all that she had done ever since that day three years ago. "The burden of searching for lost memories, praying for a bright future yet keeping in line with the dull, unchanging present is enough to destroy one's very soul, though one who can control their fragile heart is promised to reach their bright horizon..."_

_"Hm... I'm not very interested in literature but I have to admit that you have an amazing speaking voice..."_

_The young girl spun round and looked at the snake, who had appeared out of no where, "What do you want?" She asked with a glare._

_"Hm... you need to learn your manners..." The man replied, a glint in his evil eyes._

_"W..why are you looking at me like that..." The nine year old girl's eyes widened slightly as Orochimaru stepped closer, a sly smile plastered across his face and a sickeningly twisted look in his eyes. He gradually stepped closer and closer until the girl backed into the baby wall of her bedroom._

"_Don't be frightened, it's only me..." Orochimaru placed his hands on the wall, either side of the terrified, young girl, trapping her._

"_That's not exactly an upside, and who said anything about me being frightened?" The blonde gulped slightly and looked into the snake's eyes with a glare, trying to mask her fear._

"_I can tell..." The man removed one of his hands from the wall and ran his finger along the blonde's smooth jaw line, "by that look in your eyes... heh..." He gripped the girl's chin and forcefully made her look up at him, "You can't hide anything from me... and you can't stop me..."_

_Due to sudden realization the innocent young girl's heart temporarily stopped, she pushed away from the snake and ran as fast as she could out of her room and down the dark corridor. The girl had long, slim legs, she was quite tall for her age and her hair was a fair blonde. The nine year old ran through the darkness of the long, empty hallways, it was complete silence other than the girl's light panting and rapid footsteps, running as fast as possible._

"_Heh... you can't hide from me..."_

_It was then that the girl felt complete and utter fear run down her spine. She picked up the pace and pushed forward, running even faster. Though she was quickly losing her energy, she kept running, reaching down to pull up her trousers every now and then. She was wearing a pair of loose, baggy, black trousers which were way too big for her, and a dark grey, loose T-shirt. The blonde looked back as she adjusted her trousers once more, while still running, to see if Orochimaru had caught up yet._

_Phew! She couldn't see him, well.. she couldn't actually see anything..._

_All of a sudden, she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and pull her back. The blonde tried to scream but Orochimaru managed to clasp his hand over the girl's mouth before she could alert anyone of the situation, or waking any of the other subordinates._

"_Gfht ogff ovh muehfp!" The girl tried to shout, but just ended up muffling complete nonsense._

"_Now..." The snake pulled the blonde into his arms, then he dragged her further into the shadows as he whispers a poisoned remark in the girl's ear, "Now I will teach you some manners..."_

_

* * *

_

"Zeotora,"

The blonde kept her grip on both the kunai and the snake as she let her gaze drift over to the figure of the silver haired male, "Kabuto,"

"Let him go... or else..." Kabuto was holding a kunai to his own throat, threatening to end his own life.

"Would you really go that far for _him_?" Zeotora sat up slightly and turned to look at her older sibling.

"Yes, I would and I will if you don't back down," The man held the kunai firmed as it pressed against his neck with little pressure, drawing a thin line of blood, down to his shirt collar.

"Do you even know what he did to me? Are you even aware of what happened after you ran off when we were kids?"

Kabuto's dark eyes narrowed beneath his glasses, "That was a long, long time ago... and you know that I didn't want to leave you behind..."

"Oh sure you didn't!" Zeotora snapped, "You couldn't wait for me to be out of the picture!"

"That's because you forgot about me!" Kabuto argued, starting to sound a bit like a young child.

"I did not! It wasn't my fault he could see me!" Zeotora argued back, sounding equally as childish.

"Well, well, well... isn't this interesting..." Orochimaru remarked with an evil grin.

"Shut up you!" Zeotora gave the snake a sideways glance. immediately shutting him up, she then turned back to her brother, "You got fed up of me ever since I started hanging out with Di-"

"Don't you dare go and turn all this around! It was your fault for going up to that stupid, annoying, loner boy in the first place!" Kabuto's hand started to shake as the rage flowed through his body, the kunai accidentally cut deeper, causing more blood to dribble from the wound.

The blonde's hand shot up and clutched her own neck, "Kabuto! Stop it!" Zeotora glared at her brother, her hand still at her neck, "No one knows what happened to him! It doesn't matter anymore!"

"I know what happened to him..."

Zeotora froze. She slowly turned her head to look at the snake, still at her mercy, "Wh..what did you say..."

Orochimaru grinned wide and answered the shocked girl's question, "I said I know what happened to that sweet little boy that you haven't seen since you were six years old..."

"No..." Zeotora swallowed and shook her head, "How could you know what happened to him... he got out, I know he did!"

"Wrong again..."

The Kunoichi turned to see the owner of the masculine voice, her eyes widened as she look to the doorway. Stood there was a tall male, he had jet black hair, amazingly dark green eyes and he was extremely attractive. He stood, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded over his chest.

"No way... it couldn't be..." Zeotora blinked, "Dinto?"

"You guessed it, baby," The male, known as Dinto, replied.

"Oh my god... I haven't seen you in so many years..." The blonde still couldn't believe this was happening, after over 13 years of not knowing what happened to her best friend, here he was.

"Yeah, I know..." Dinto gave a slight chuckle as he looked into Zeotora's eyes, "You've changed..."

"So have you..." The Kunoichi couldn't help but smile, knowing that her friend was safe after all these years.

"In more ways than one, Zeotora," Mimi stepped beside Dinto and leaned against him, a cheesy grin on her face.

"Mimi? I thought you were..." Now Zeotora was completely confused, didn't she kill Mimi?

"Nope, you can't kill me... I've got too much to live for..." The ginger-blonde grabbed Dinto's shirt and pulled him down into a deep, passionate kiss. Zeotora's smile dropped as she stared in disbelief, her heart felt nothing, but her memories did.

Zeotora suddenly took in a sharp, painful breath, she reached up and placed her hand over her heart, gripping her shirt tightly as her heart began pumping painfully fast. It felt as if her heart was literally twisting and turning in her chest, she fell to her knees and coughed up blood, though this wasn't normal pain, it felt like a much deeper, emotional pain. Zeotora frowned as she looked at the blood she had coughed up, it was strangely dark, and it was slowly turning black, _oh no..._

Zeotora's breathing slowly settled back down to it's normal pace as the pain slowly faded. She climbed to her feet and looked over to the couple, who were still kissing, Dinto was running his fingers through Mimi's hair and Mimi had her arms wrapped around Dinto's neck. The blonde felt a pain, like lightning, shoot through her heart as she watched the two, she looked away, though the pain wouldn't go away this time.

"Fine..." Zeotora looked over to Orochimaru, then to Kabuto, "The bastard can keep his life, I'm outta here..." The Kunoichi took a deep breath and walked casually out of the room, Orochimaru smirked and watched the girl leave, Kabuto was amazed that she gave up. And Mimi grabbed Dinto's hand and dragged him off somewhere, Dinto following like a puppy dog.

* * *

"Dei dei..."

Deidara opened his eyes to see Zeotora leaning over him, waiting for him to wake up, she smiled cheerfully and help Deidara up.

"Oh hey, Zeotora, un..." Deidara rubbed his head, he must have passed out due to the lack of oxygen or something like that.

"You got hit pretty bad, come on, let's find the others," Zeotora grinned and grabbed Deidara's hand, the two of them searched for the other Akatsuki members, after a couple of hours all of them had gathered in the woods outside Orochimaru's lair.

"Zeotora, are you ok?" Kakuzu asked cautiously.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" The blonde pulled a cheeky grin and giggled slightly.

_If anyone asks, I'll tell them we both just moved on  
__When people all stare I'll pretend that I don't hear them talk  
__Whenever I see you I'll swallow my pride and bite my tongue..._

"Well, did you kill Orochimaru?" Hidan asked, while polishing his scythe.

Zeotora went completely silent, her expression far from happy and only one image in her mind, the image of the single most important person in the whole world to her and her ex-best friend lip locked in a deep, breathless, tongue twisting, saliva swapping, passionate kiss. The blonde could feel her already fragile heart slowly tearing into two separate pieces, and then each piece slowly burning away into nothingness.

"Umm... Twinkle?"

Zeotora blinked a couple of times to keep back the tears, she then pulled her trademark, cheeky grin and stood up, "Nah, he got away but I suppose we could try again some other time..."

_Pretend I'm ok with it all  
__Act like there's nothing wrong..._

The group stared in amazement, Zeotora never, and I mean NEVER, gave up on ANYTHING! And here she was, giving up and with the most pathetic excuse ever!

"C'mon guys, let's go home," The Kunoichi dusted herself off and helped Deidara up. He had sprained his ankle when he fell, but didn't complain too much about it. The comrades then headed back to the hideout, though everyone could tell that Zeotora was hiding something from them, she was such a bad liar.

_If anyone asks, I'll tell them we just grew apart  
__Yeah, what do I care if they believe me or not?_

On their way back, Deidara was sat on his clay bird, resting his ankle, while Hidan walked up front trying to stay as far away from Tobi as possible, he was starting to give him a headache. Tobi was trying his hardest to keep up with Hidan, he needed someone to talk to. Meanwhile, Kakuzu and Zeotora walked side by side near the back of the group, both completely silent.

_Whenever I feel, your memory is breaking my heart  
__I'll pretend I'm ok with it all  
__Act like there's nothing wrong..._

"Zuzu..."

Kakuzu looked at Zeotora, "Yeah, what is it?" It felt kinda weird for someone to be calling him Zuzu, though he knew it was mostly because the blonde was terrible with names, and who was he to complain?

"You know the night before I quit the Akatsuki..." Zeotora kept her eyes lowered, and her gaze on the floor.

"Uh... yeah..." Kakuzu suddenly felt awkward at the memory of walking in on Hidan and Zeotora. _**(A/N SORRY HIDAN FANS!)**_

"You do know I'm sorry about that... right?" The Kunoichi kept her voice relatively quiet and her eyes never once felt the floor.

"Of course, you made that perfectly clear and even though I never actually got round to saying it, I do forgive you..." Kakuzu replied, though the memory still haunted him, "Why did you bring this up all of a sudden?"

_Is it over yet?  
__Can I open my eyes?_

Zeotora was silent for a few seconds, she then looked up, her eyes duller than before and the tears were so close to overflowing, "Because I think I just experienced what you must have felt... only much, much worse..." She looked away again and hid the tears that were now running down her cheeks. Kakuzu's motley eyes widened, he froze as he realized what Zeotora was saying, and right now he didn't care what anyone thought or if it was the right thing to do. He just wrapped his arms around Zeotora and held her close, trying to comfort her. The blonde broke down, she cried into Kakuzu's chest, it was far too much to bear. Everyone turned to see what had happened, Kakuzu glared at them meaning, _'keep walking'_

Tobi immediately shut up and hesitated, but kept walking. Hidan knew not to mess with Kakuzu when he glared like _that _and Deidara knew that if Zeotora needed to cry, she would hate for people to crowd around her, so everyone kept heading back to the base.

_Is this as hard as it gets?_

Kakuzu kept Zeotora in a tender, comforting embrace, he gently stroked her back as she cried harder. The blonde gripped Kakuzu's cloak sleeve in her hand as she cried her eyes out, the tears wouldn't stop and her heart seemed to be tearing even further, the memories, the emotions, the pain, the anger, the rage! Zeotora's throat was sore, her eyes were stinging and the tears were still flowing.

_Is this what it feels like to really...  
__...Cry...  
__...Cry..._

Zeotora couldn't take it. She pulled away from Kakuzu and reached down to grab a kunai, she raised it up and with a frown on her face she pulled it down quickly, aiming for her chest.

_I'm talking in circles  
__I'm lying, they know it  
__Why won't this just all go away?_

The Kunoichi felt more tears running down her already tear-stained face, Kakuzu held Zeotora's wrist with one hand, keeping the kunai from injuring the girl, and the other was still holding Zeotora close. She dropped the kunai and cried more, the tears still coming strong.

_Is this what it feels like to really cry..._

Kakuzu let go of Zeotora's wrist and gently picked her up, bridal style. The teenager buried her face in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes, failing to stop the tears, "Ssshhh... it's ok..." Kakuzu whispered in a tender, yet assuring voice, he began walking back to the hideout as the girl slipped into a quiet, yet haunting dream...

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**OMG SO SAD!**_

_**Awwwwww you have to admit that the last bit was so cute! **_

_**And bad Mimi! How dare you still be alive! Oh yea.. you're not gonna find out why she's still alive until later, but feel free to guess XP**_

_**Anyway, the first half of this chapter was inspired by the song Miserable by Lit and the second half, was written with the lyrics Cry by Kelly Clarkson (I LUV THOSE SONGS)**_

_**Oh yea and a special shout out to my only two reviewers... Hannah and Emily! (applause) and yes... I did stalk you...**_

_**Don't forget to review! And all will become clear in the next chapter... well, sort of...**_

_**Laterz**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	17. Emotional Bruises

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Ok, well I don't really feel like talking too much today, due to the fact that I am officially depressed all thanks to a really mean reviewer of my latest stories, so I'm sorry if this chapter seems really depressing.**_

_**Anyway, I was listening to the song Here I Am by Leona Lewis.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 17 - Emotional Bruises**

"_Heehee Dinto..."_

"_Ok you two! if you're gonna make out, do it in your room!"_

"_Oh but Kabu-kun..."_

"_Argh... fine, but I'm leaving!"_

"_Now, now Kabuto... let the kids have their fun..."_

"_Thank you Orochimaru-sama,"_

"_You're welcome Mimi..."_

"_Pfft! Kids are such a nuisance..."_

"_Oh don't be such a spoilt sport Kabuto..."_

"_Heehee Dinto! Don't touch me there! ...Well at least not in front of anyone..."_

"_I'm sorry, I can't help it, you're just so..."_

"_I know, I know..."_

Suddenly, the image of Mimi and Dinto shot through Zeotora's mind, waking her up. Her heart was beating at an unsafe pace, her eyes were swollen from the crying, her throat was almost numb and all Zeotora could feel was the cold floor and the slight warmth emitted from her make-shift pillow.

"Oh Zeotora... you're awake..."

The blonde looked up at Kakuzu, he was leaning against the cave wall and Zeotora realized that she was leaning on Kakuzu's lap, he actually made quite a comfy pillow.

"Yeah... what are we doing in here?"

"It started to rain, and I didn't want you catching a cold..." Kakuzu smiled softly then looked out at the rain, it was pouring heavily, "So... if you don't mind me asking... what happened in there? I mean when you went off alone to find Orochimaru..." Kakuzu hesitated but he wanted to know how it was possible for anything, or anyone, to make the girl cry so much.

"It's a long story... but I suppose it's going to be a while for this rain lets up..." Zeotora sat up and took a deep breath, "I guess most of what happened wouldn't really make sense unless I tell you the story right from the beginning... Well, this all started a long, long, long time ago... when I was six and Kabuto was nine, we were in the Leaf Village after the Great Ninja War, we had just lost both our parents, and other than each other, we were all alone..."

_The two children stood side-by-side, hand-in-hand. They looked around and saw no familiar faces, the sky was grey and clouds were forming, though all the other children ignored the weather and kept playing their games. Zeotora squeezed her brother's hand as they walked through the massive crowd of people, she didn't want to let go or lose her brother as well. Despite all the noise and messing around, one little boy sat all alone on the park bench, his feet swinging back and forth and his gaze on the floor._

"Kabuto told me to stay by his side for safety reasons, but I couldn't help but feel bad for this one boy who sat completely alone and seemed to have no friends, so I disobeyed Kabuto and went to cheer the boy up..."

_The young girl let go of her brother's hand and ran through the group of children, Kabuto immediately losing sight of his sister. Zeotora skipped over to the lone boy, "Hi there, what's your name?" The blonde grinned at the boy, sending a wave of warmth over him._

"_Umm... I'm Dinto..." The boy replied timidly._

"_Wow, that's a nice name!" _

"_Uh thanks... what's yours?" _

"When Dinto asked what my name was I suddenly remembered that Kabuto told me to keep my name and details a secret, probably for safety precautions, he was always so paranoid, even as a kid. So then I pretended that I didn't have a name..."

"_Umm... I don't actually have a name, why don't you pick one for me!" Zeotora giggled and sat down beside her new friend._

"_Ok... well I always liked this one name..."_

"And so Dinto chose the name Wasurete, and we started hanging out... all the time... we did pretty much everything together, but the bullies always wanted to pick on someone, and for some reason they found it especially fun to taunt Dinto..."

_"Hahahaha you're such a loser!"_

_"You don't have any friends!"_

_"Wah! Wah! Poor little loner boy hahahaha!" The children laughed and threw small stones at the Dinto as he sat quietly, trying to ignore the bullies that made fun of him at every possible chance. One of the older boys threw a slightly larger stone, hitting the apparently friendless boy in the temple of his head, he fell to the floor and held his hand to his head, tears in his eyes._

"_Oh look! The little baby is gonna cry! Hahahaha!" After humiliating and injuring the six year old, they left to go play football and other games._

"_Are you ok?" Zeotora slowly walked over and helped her friend up, "They're such big meanies!"_

_The injured boy looked at the slightly younger girl with watery, dark green eyes, "W..why didn't you help me when they said I didn't have any friends?"_

"Of course I could never help Dinto when he was being bullied, Kabuto always held me back and told me to stay out of trouble. We always kept our heads low, keeping as far from the commotion as possible. Though every time he was bullied I desperately wanted to stand up to the bullies, but I was just a six year old girl with hardly any strength at all... so we always used to run away, disappearing out of sight for hours on end, trapped in our own little world..."

"_Hey... do you think they're gone?" Zeotora asked._

"_Let me check..." Dinto poked his head over the top of the table._

"_There he is!" Stones and hard objects were thrown towards the boy, hitting him and injuring him once more._

"_Quick! Run!" The blonde grabbed her friend's hand and ran, they both managed to escape the bullies' sight, though they knew they wouldn't be safe for long._

"_Why... do they keep... picking on me?" The boy whispered while panting._

"_I don't know, but we have to hide. The best way to destroy your enemy is to know what they will do next!"_

"One day when the bullies decided to start using larger rocks and stones to hurt Dinto, we ran away through the woods. The two of us ran for ages, we were so out of breath and we somehow stumbled across a small building, of course as ignorant young children, we carelessly walked into the building and looked for some drinks..."

_"C'mon, this way..." The children held hands as they walked through the darkness, Dinto shivering with fear and Zeotora excited due to the adventure._

_"Aww, you two are so cute..."_

_The two spun round and looked through the darkness, trying to see where the voice had come from._

"_Who said that?" Zeotora asked cautiously, her heart starting to beat faster._

"_You idiots! Why the hell did you run off like that?" Kabuto appeared out of the darkness, a look of worry and frustration on his face._

"_Sorry Kabuto..." Zeotora looked down at the ground._

_The silver-haired boy's eyes suddenly widened and he pushed his sister and the other boy out of the way, "Run!"_

"When Kabuto showed up he was pretty pissed off with us, just running off without even looking back. We were kinda confused when he pushed us out of the way and told us to run, though at that point we never actually noticed Orochimaru watching us, but then Dinto suddenly found some courage, telling me and Kabuto to run away while we could, of course I didn't want to leave my best friend..."

"_C'mon! We have to get out of here!" Kabuto shouted to his sister, though the girl refused to leave her friend's side, "Fine! Get yourself killed! See if I care!" The boy then ran off, heading for the exit, leaving the two younger kids behind._

_Orochimaru stepped out of the darkness, he walked over to Dinto a kind smile on his pale face. Zeotora immediately sensed danger, "No! Get away from him, he's dangerous!" The little girl pulled at Dinto's hand trying to pull him away from the older man._

_"My, what a cute little sister you have..." The snake remarked in a cold yet calming voice._

_"Sh..she's not my sister... she's my best friend..." Dinto corrected timidly._

"_My mistake.." The man smiled down at the small boy, his green snake eyes flashed in the darkness, as he licked his pale lips with his long, snake-like tongue._

"From the moment I saw Orochimaru I knew he was trouble, and Kabuto told me constantly to stay away from danger, by the time Dinto listened to me and started running, Kabuto would have already made it out of the lair. And for some reason he never actually came back or tried to help us..."

"_Run! Quick!" The girl screamed to her friend as they ran through the maze-like halls. She tripped over her laces and slammed straight into the ground, twisting her ankle in the process._

"_Huh?" The black-haired turned and went to help Zeotora up._

"_No! Keep running! You have to get out!" The younger girl gestured for Dinto to keep running, her blue eyes were wide with fear and the blood trickled from her nose and forehead._

"_I can't leave you behind!"_

"_Yes you can! You have to! Go before he catches you!" The girl kept checking to see if the snake-like man was coming, "Just go!"_

"_I don't want to!" Dinto felt the tears well up in his eyes as he looked at the heartbreaking expression on his best friend's face, he then swallowed hard and turned to leave, "I'll miss you..." The tears ran down his pale cheeks._

"_I'll miss you too, now go!" Zeotora was practically screaming at the young boy now, she didn't want anything bad to happen to the only person who ever cared about her._

_The boy began running as fast as he could, he turned to watch the figure of the girl slowly get smaller and disappear out of sight, he mumbled her name as he ran, her sad face in his mind, "Wasurete..."_

"As we were running I tripped and twisted my ankle, I had to force Dinto to keep running, eventually he actually did leave and Orochimaru caught up with me, he dragged be to a room and left me there. After that he tried to get me to train and learn ninja skills, after over three years I gave in and trained as a ninja, learning everything I know from my enemy, and that's how I got where I am today..." Zeotora finished the story of her past and looked out see if the rain had stopped, it hadn't. In fact, it looked as if it was raining harder.

"So that's how you ended up working for Orochimaru, wait... does that mean that you hadn't seen your own brother in over thirteen years?" Kakuzu was rather shocked at how long they had been separated. The blonde nodded, her mind still haunted by the image that broke her heart over and over again.

"Are you still sure that you want to tell me the rest of what happened? Because you don't have to, I mean I don't want to cry like that ever again..."

"No, it's fine... I need to tell someone, but... you might not like it that much, especially the main reason why I was crying..." Zeotora took a deep breath and told Kakuzu the whole story, skipping out the parts about Kabuto threatening to kill himself, the strange pain in her heart that Zeotora had felt and the nameless jutsu that she used while confronted with Orochimaru. The Kunoichi choked on her words a couple of times when she reached the part about Mimi and Dinto kissing right before her eyes, "I can't believe I'm saying this out loud... but... I have had a major crush on Dinto ever since we became best friends..."

Kakuzu frowned slightly as he felt a wave of sorrow, not because Zeotora loved someone else, but because Dinto would so willingly allow Zeotora's heart to be broken and not even care about it. Kakuzu grinded his teeth together at the thought of the love of his life to be so heartbroken over such an emotionless ladies' man.

"Zuzu... promise you won't tell anyone?" Zeotora looked into Kakuzu's eyes, reading the anger flowing through him, it was so obvious that he was going to do something drastic, she just didn't want him to tell anyone.

"I promise, cross my heart... all five of them..."

Zeotora burst into laughter, she never thought Kakuzu would actually make a joke out of his five hearts.

"C'mon, we should head back, though it might take a while walking and in the rain..." Zeotora watched the rain pour down, though ti wasn't raining as heavily as earlier, she looked at Kakuzu and waited for him to share his opinion.

"Yeah, everyone will be wondering where we are, hm..." The brunette thought for a moment, "Put your cloak over your head, I'll give you a piggy back,"

Zeotora once again burst into laughter, "You are aware that you just referred to yourself as a piggy, right?"

"Yep, oink oink!" Kakuzu's sound effects just made Zeotora laugh more, she eventually calmed down and climbed onto Kakuzu's back, she pulled the cloak over her head and held it their with one hand, while the other arm wrapped around Kakuzu's neck. The brunette walked out into the rain and sped off, heading for the familiar hideout, Zeotora was still tired, though she was afraid to go to sleep due to the dream she had last time she slept. So she just rested her head on Kakuzu's shoulder and watched the scenery go by, unaware of the promise that Kakuzu was mentally making.

_You will never have your heart broken ever again, you'll never have to cry that hard or feel that much pain, I won't let anyone hurt you... I promise, my love..._

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Awwwwwwwwwwwwww! Writing this chapter has actually made me feel a bit better! I think it's so cute when Kakuzu acts all luvey duvey! XP**_

_**So there you have it! The flashbacks all make sense... well, most of them... (evil grin) And now you know who Dinto is, who the little boy is, how Zeotora joined Orochimaru and why Zeotora cried so hard when Dinto kissed Mimi.. (fan girl squeal) She loves him! So cute!**_

_**Please review!**_

_**Laterz XP**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	18. Black Blooded Nightmare

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hey guys!**_

_**Ok, I know that the story has been quite luvey duvey lately, and I have no idea why that happened!**_

_**Anyway, I came up with a pretty good idea for this chapter, so I won't keep ya waiting!**_

_**Lately I have found that a lot of songs have been inspiring me, and this chapter was inspired by the song Pain by Three Days Grace. **_

_**And I know there has been a lot of confusion recently, especially since Dinto made an appearance, but I decided to make the story more complicated so that it goes on for longer because I was planning on ending the story soon, but I just don't want to!**_

_**So, thank you for all the reviews so far and enjoy!**_

**Chapter 18 - Black Blooded Nightmare**

"A heart torn two ways cannot foresee the darkness looming over what once was known as love. The burden of searching for lost memories, praying for a bright future yet keeping in line with the dull, unchanging present is enough to destroy one's very soul, though one who can control their fragile heart is promised to reach their bright horizon..." Zeotora walked back and forth in her room, it had been three days since they got back from their mission, no one had spoke of the event since they got back and only Kakuzu knew the full story.

Zeotora's mind lingered on two things... the fact that Mimi was alive and that her own blood had changed to the darkest of black. Maybe it was just her imagination...

The blonde pulled off her white glove and set it down, picking up a kunai with the other hand. She held the metal weapon against her bare hand and pressed down with just enough pressure to draw enough blood to see if it really was black.

A strange pain was sent through the girl's body, it shot from the slice on her hand to the whole of her body, she didn't know why, but she liked this pain. It wasn't the normal pain that she felt when she was on missions, this time it seemed more... what's the word... more enjoyable in a way.

Zeotora looked down at her now blood covered hand, yep, she had black blood. But that wasn't enough proof for her, she had to check again, just to be absolutely sure. The Kunoichi thought for a minute, she needed to wound herself in a different place to see if all of her blood was black or just that particular spot. She pulled the kunai from her wounded hand and sliced it across her side, watching the black blood dribble down to stain her clothes, but that wasn't enough. She needed to prove that she still had red blood somewhere in her body. Once again the girl pulled the cold metal from her wound and this time jabbed it into her leg, more black blood spilled from her open flesh wound.

Now Zeotora was officially pissed off! She didn't have black blood! She knew she had red blood, she just needed to find it.

"Argh! Where is it!" Zeotora stabbed the kunai into her arm, only finding more black blood. She sliced the metal against her shoulder, her knee, her stomach, only resulting in covering herself in the dark black liquid, "Oh c'mon!"

The teenager looked at herself in the mirror, she was covered in her own blood, and she liked the feeling. She liked having so many open wounds and the blood pouring from her. Zeotora narrowed her eyes at the sight of the red glowing slowly, but steadily staining her blue eyes, she was then bombarded by the sudden urge to find the red blood, so she kept inflicting damage to her already weak body. She soon got so carried away that she didn't realize that her blood was gradually returning to its normal colour, but being the demon possessed person she was... she continued. She felt the need to keep injuring herself until she found ALL of her red blood. Then she looked at the only spot on her body that she hadn't cut yet.

Her neck.

* * *

Kakuzu and Hidan sat at the kitchen table. Well, Kakuzu had his head on the table, he was 'resting' his eyes, and Hidan was pretty much asleep, leaning back on his chair, nearly tipping it over.

Pein walked in and saw the two, he rolled his eyes and then cleared his throat, "WAKE UP YOU IDIOTS! I'M NOT PAYING YOU TO SLEEP!"

Kakuzu jumped up in the blink of an eye, "Money! Where!"

Hidan nearly had of a heart attack at the rude awakening, he waved his arms in the air as his chair tipped back a little too far, "AH JASHIN SAVE ME!" Despite Hidan's shout for help, he fell flat on his back on the floor, "Ow..."

"OH MY GOD! ZEOTORA!" Everyone heard Konan scream from down the hall, "PEIN! KAKUZU! HIDAN! SOMEONE! GET IN HERE NOW!"

At the mention of Zeotora's name, Kakuzu and Hidan literally ran to the blonde's room. Pein followed behind the 'Zombie Brothers', unaware of how the serious the situation was. All three males froze as they entered Zeotora's room, their eyes wide with shock.

Deidara also ran to the girl's room, he skidded to a halt and felt himself suddenly start to tremble as he saw what the Kunoichi had done...

Zeotora was knelt on the floor, completely covered in a mix of dark red and black blood, wounds all over her body and an enormous amount of pure, crimson red blood still seeping from the slice on the side of her neck. The blood had splattered all over Zeotora's hair, making it appear red, the girl's blue eyes had almost completely been taken over by the lion demon's red eyes. The glowing red mixed with baby blue ended up in a sort of mixed, muddy brown. And from where Deidara was standing, he could've sworn that he was looking at a ghost of a dearly missed comrade.

"S..sasori.." All the bomber could do was stand there, staring as Zeotora was slowly getting paler due to the blood draining from her soon to be lifeless body.

"Kakuzu, take her to your room and get her stitched up. Hidan, go with them and supply some blood. Deidara, either help out or get out. Konan, try and clean this mess up," Pein instructed his worthy followers like ants and because they were some of Zeotora's closest friends, they accepted their orders and did as commanded without a second thought.

Kakuzu rushed over to Zeotora and pulled the kunai from her hand, dropping it carelessly on the floor, he picked up the Kunoichi bridal style and carried her to his shared room. Hidan grabbed his scythe and followed his comrade, Konan got to work on cleaning up and Deidara just stood there in complete shock, "...Danna..."

* * *

_What happened? The last thing I remember was being in my room and thinking about the black blood thing... what am I doing here? Wait... where am I exactly?_

"Hidan! Hurry up!"

_That's Zuzu... but why is he telling Slick to hurry up?_

"Shut up! I'm going as fast as I can! Do you know how hard it is to drain the blood from your own body?"

_Huh? What the hell is going on? Why the hell is Slick draining his blood? And why is Zuzu telling him to hurry up?_

"Well try harder! If Zeotora dies, it's your fault!"

_Wait... what? They're talking about... me? That can't be right- ow... what was that? It felt as if something just went straight through my skin..._

"Here, is that enough blood?"

"It's good enough for now, but keep going, just in case,"

_Will someone please tell me what's going on! Ow... well, that felt like and injection... and I'm guessing that they're injecting Slick's blood into my system... but why? I still don't know anything!_

"Well, she's pretty much in one piece... but..."

"But what?"

_Yeah Zuzu, but what?_

"When she wakes up, she might not like what she sees..."

_Ok, that's it! I'm waking up!_

Zeotora opened her eyes slowly, the light shining brightly, making her eyes sting slightly. The girl tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't do anything it was told.

"Woah, Zeotora! You shouldn't try to do too much," Kakuzu warned her as he helped her sit up against the pillows.

"Thanks... what happened?"

"Umm... you don't remember?" Hidan wasn't that surprised, but how could someone not remember doing something like that.

"Nope, I just remember being in my room, and now I'm here... and the hell does my body hurt so mu-" The Kunoichi's eyes widened when she looked down at her body, her jaw almost literally hit the ground and her heart was beating unnaturally fast.

"I told you she wouldn't like what she saw..."

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME?" The last thing Zeotora expected to see was that her body was being held together by loads and loads of stitches, they were covering her whole body, head to toe COVERED in stitches much like Kakuzu's. Zeotora panicked and tried to get up, so she could see herself in the mirror, but Kakuzu stopped her from going anywhere.

"You have to rest. When we found you, you were covered in blood and you were trying to kill yourself, your body was practically falling apart, it was either die or... this,"

Telling her what happened was seriously a bad idea, she started totally freaking out. Zeotora fought against Kakuzu, trying to get out of bed and run far away, but it was kinda hard, considering that her body was still so weak she could hardly move.

"I'm gonna... go," Hidan rushed out the door and to the bathroom, leaving the miser to deal with the freaked out blonde.

"Argh! Hidan! Get back here you stupid zealot!" Kakuzu sighed, he then grabbed Zeotora's cloak and wrapped it around her, covering her entire body, so she couldn't see it. The Kunoichi looked down and realized that her body was covered up, she then calmed down and sat back against her headboard of Kakuzu's bed.

"There, it's not so bad," Zeotora turned her head away and pouted, she didn't like this one bit.

"Can I please get up..."

"No, you need to rest,"

"Oh please! I hate sitting in bed all day!" Zeotora started to whine like a child, she was obviously back to her normal self.

"Fine, but don't walk around too much, and don't try and do stuff if it's too hard for you," Kakuzu was seriously over protective, but he just didn't want her to hurt herself... again...

"Alright, alright, thanks for the tip _DAD_..." Zeotora put the cloak on properly and did it up to make her body completely concealed, she then climbed to her feet, wobbling slightly, but she soon got the hang of it.

The minute Zeotora tried to walk her legs gave way beneath her , she grabbed onto Kakuzu out of pure instinct. Kakuzu kept Zeotora from falling though it resulted in her nails being dug into his arm as the girl tried to walk, the pain was so intense that she was pretty much ready for the shatter-scream.

"Take it easy," The brunette muttered as he watched Zeotora take a step forward.

"Let me just-" The Kunoichi let go of Kakuzu and took a step on her own, but then the stitches that held her leg together pulled against her skin, she gritted her teeth and tried to balance herself, Kakuzu instantly shot forward and supported the blonde, "Thanks Zuzu..."

Kakuzu felt the blush spread over his face as he realized where his hands were. One hand was on Zeotora's upper arm and the other was on the girl's waist, he couldn't help it, the blush just kept getting darker and darker. The brunette was kinda thankful when Zeotora tried to walk on her own again. This time she had more luck, being able to walk to the door and back with few faults.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," The blonde made her way to the door, wrapping the cloak around herself to conceal her new body.

"Wait, you rest, I'll get the drink-"

"No thanks, I need to learn to deal with situations like this," She finished her statement with a cheeky grin, the opened the door and left, Kakuzu had no choice but to follow behind her, just in case.

"Uh... hi Dei dei," Zeotora smiled at Deidara, forgetting about her cloak, accidentally letting it fall open, revealing her stitch covered body. Deidara's blue eyes widened for a moment, he then glared at Kakuzu.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**I can't believe Zeotora did that! She totally got carried away... **__**Yeah, she is kinda unstable... literally...**_

_**And I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist making Hidan fall off his chair... it was just too funny! C'mon, admit it! Plus, I realized that I haven't put in many scenes where Kakuzu is obsessed with his money... my bad XP**_

_**Ok, I know that Zeotora looking like Sasori is totally cliché but I actually noticed how similar they are! They are roughly the same height, since Zeotora grew her hair, they have the same hair length (sorta) and she wears his cloak!**_

_**Anyway, I couldn't resist making her end up with LOADS of stitches... it was just an idea that popped into my head, so it doesn't really mean much in the story.**_

_**I hope ya likey! Please review because the next chapter is very special... and yes, I have finished it already XP So get reviewing, or I won't publish it!**_

_**P.S - The black blood thing doesn't actually get explained so I will just tell you, as you remember in the last chapter where Zeotora is trapped in those spikes, and they had poison on them... and Zeotora let herself get injured so she could use the shatter-scream. Well, the poison mixed with her blood, turning it black and since she is the Jinchuriki the poison doesn't kill her, but when she lost loads of blood, it got rid of the poison, so there you have it, that's why her blood WAS black XP**_

_**Ok, see ya later!**_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	19. Nicknames, Codes And A Kiss

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hey!**_

_**Well, I don't have many notes today... **_

_**I would just like to thank my only two reviewers *blows kiss* love ya! (not in that way)**_

_**Ok, I just have one other thing to say... well, this chapter gets pretty sad :( and a bit mushy... so mushy that it makes you wanna be sick... YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**_

_**On with the story!**_

**Chapter 19 - Nicknames, Codes And A Kiss**

"Dei dei! Calm down!" Zeotora put her hand on Deidara's arm and tried to calm him down. Deidara had feelings for Zeotora. It was that simple, the problem was that at this point in time Zeotora looked almost identical to Deidara's idol, Sasori.

Zeotora was roughly the same height as Sasori, her hair was stained with dark red blood, almost the same shade as the puppet's red hair, her eyes were the same muddy brown AND she was wearing Sasori's cloak. This was complete torture for the blonde artist.

Deidara closed his blue eyes and shook his head to try to rid himself of the memories of his fellow artist.

"Shut up Danna, un!"

Zeotora's eyes widened, _did he just call me... Danna?_, "Dei dei! Listen to me!"

The teen continued to shake his head, refusing to listen.

"Deidara! Snap out of it!" Zeotora's firm voice echoed through the halls.

"I can't take this, un..." The bomber held his hands tightly over his ears, making it impossible to hear anything. Zeotora grabbed his wrists and tried to make him listen, "Leave me alone, un!"

SMACK!

Deidara froze, he stared at Zeotora wide eyed, did he really just-

"DEIDARA YOU BASTARD!" Kakuzu grabbed Deidara's collar and pinned him against the wall, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

Deidara's eyes lingered on Zeotora as she climbed to her feet, a dribble of blood coming from her nose. The girl wiped away the blood with her sleeve and looked at Deidara.

"My, my you have such ill manners... heh..."

All eyes were drawn to the shadows where the voice had come from.

"We all know you should never hit a lady..."

Zeotora growled under her breath, "Orochimaru..."

"Oi Orochi-sama, you're wrong, she ain't no lady," Orochimaru chuckled at the comment made by the familiar black haired male.

Zeotora rolled her eyes, "If you're gonna insult me, at least make it a good insult,"

"Ah, you haven't changed at all, and there I was thinking that you had gone and grown up without me," Dinto smirked at the look in Zeotora's eyes, he knew what she was going to say next.

"We both knew you would never grow up anyway," Both Dinto and Zeotora looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before both burst into laughter. Kakuzu let go of Deidara as they both stared in confusion.

"It's been such a long time since we last laughed like that,"

"Yeah, I know... good times..."

"Say, you haven't introduced me to your friends," Dinto turned to Kakuzu and Deidara as he hooked an arm around Zeotora's shoulder, "I'm Dinto, short for Dinto Jack,"

Kakuzu grinded his teeth together and cracked his knuckles, Deidara narrowed his eyes at the taller male and growled at him.

"Uhhh... this is Dei dei and Zuzu," Zeotora dived out of Dinto's grasp, even though she loved it when he put his around her.

"Hm... haha they are so in love with you!" Dinto laughed slightly, causing both Kakuzu and Deidara to look away and blush madly. Zeotora remained silent, a slight blush painted across her cheeks.

"Very impressive Dinto, your training has definatly paid off," Orochimaru commented, complimenting the younger male.

"Why thank you Orochi-sama," Dinto let a smile crawl across his face, making Zeotora blush more. Kakuzu's heart(s) melted at the cuteness of Zeotora's blush, but when he noticed that she was blushing because of this other guy, he felt the rage overflow.

Dinto smirked evilly at how over-protective the older male was, he ran a hand through his hair and winked at Zeotora, making ti almost impossible for her to hold back a fangirl squeal. Kakuzu was so very close to ripping the teenager's head off of his body, he was that angry.

"Dinto, unless you want both me and Mimi to kill you, you had better stop flirting with my sister,"

"Oh Kabuto, you're no fun," The boy smirked wider, a slight chuckle escaping his lips.

"Orochimaru," Pein was stood blocking the hallway, the rest of the Akatsuki by his side, "What do you want?"

The snake nodded to Dinto, the green-eyed boy immediately grabbed Zeotora , one arm around her neck and the other hand on her arm, he was holding her with such force that it was hard for her to breathe.

"Get your filthy hand off of her!" Kakuzu stepped forward, but was interrupted by his leader's firm voice.

"Kakuzu! Don't you dare go do something stupid! That's an order!"

The brunette did as told and stayed where he was. Zeotora thought to herself for a moment, her eyes suddenly light up as she came up with an idea. She cleared her throat, "Sunshine, first verse, second word, heads, shoulders, knees and toes," Zeotora frowned for a second, then spoke again, "Uhhh... void, yeah, void,"

It took a moment for the Akatsuki to understand what she was saying and to confuse the enemy, Deidara nodded.

"Splits," Konan nodded, "Kekkei Genkai, nice shoes, wink wink," Konan hesitated, but nodded once more.

"Anti-slick, uhhh... fishy-thing, twin sis," After a few awkward seconds, Kisame nodded.

"Ready? Go," And with that word, all the Akatsuki charged forward, the enemy staying extra alert of Deidara, Konan and Kisame. All of a sudden, Orochimaru was trapped in the world of Magenkyo Sharingan.

Sunshine - Itachi

Head, shoulders, knees and toes - Famous nursery rhyme

First verse - "And eyes and ears and nose and mouth" (all the other parts are the chorus)

Second word - Eyes

Void - The English translation of Kú, the symbol of Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring

_Translation - Itachi, use your Sharingan on Orochimaru._

The floor collapsed under Dinto, forcing him to let go of Zeotora and fall into the darkness.

Splits - Zetsu

Kekkei Genkai - Well, he's half plant and can morph into the walls and floor.

Nice shoes - Feet

Wink wink - A flirty act, and who's flirty I wonder... Dinto of course!

_Translation - Zetsu, morph into the floor and crumble the ground under Dinto's feet._

Kabuto yelled as he was lifted off the ground and held in the air by loads of strings.

Anti-Slick - The opposite of Hidan, obviously Kakuzu

Fishy-thing - Fish (in Zeotora's mind) = Octopus, octopuses have tentacles and Kakuzu's strings look a lot like tentacles... _**(A/N sorry Kakuzu, but it's true)**_

Twin sis - Twins are relatives/siblings and at the beginning of the sentence, Zeotora said 'anti' meaning the opposite, so instead of sis, she meant brother.

_Translation - Kakuzu, use your strings on Kabuto_

"Dei dei! Do your Katsu thing!" Zeotora said as she jumped out of the way, "Everyone else, outta the way!" As instructed Deidara set off one of his bombs while the others quickly evacuated the hideout.

Once the dust had settled once more, the intruders emerged from the ruins and stood calmly before the Akatsuki. Orochimaru then flicked his tongue and gave Kabuto a sideways glance. The silver-haired boy grabbed Deidara and held a kunai to his neck after removing the blonde's clay pouches. The bomber was immobilised by Kabuto, his hands held firmly behind his back and he couldn't move because of the kunai at his neck.

"No... Kabuto! Let him go!" Zeotora began panicking, she knew that Orochimaru would do anything to force Zeotora into rejoining him, and Kabuto was a worthy servant, obeying his master's every word.

"You know what you have to do to keep us from killing him..." Dinto smirked, the late afternoon sun reflecting in his emerald eyes.

Zeotora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew that she loved Dinto, but was she willing to leave the Akatsuki and join Orochimaru for him? She had to make a choice or Deidara would die at Kabuto's hand. Either way, she would lose, making it a win/win situation for Orochimaru.

"Fine..." Zeotora slowly opened her eyes, "You win..."

Deidara felt his breath hitch in his throat as his blood spilled out over the floor, his neck sliced completely open. Zeotora clenched her fists around the kunai that she held. The whole Akatsuki stared in shock as Deidara's body fell to the floor, into the puddle of blood that poured from the wound inflicted by the Kunoichi.

"You have no idea how sorry I am, Dei dei..." Zeotora reached into her pocket as she turned to face the rest of the Akatsuki, "And I am really sorry for this as well..." Zeotora then threw a handful of Shuriken at Konan, knocking her off balance, then she appeared behind the bluenette and drove a sword straight through the older female's heart.

"Zeotora! What the hell is wrong with you!" Pein shouted as he watched his beloved Konan fell to the ground. All of the Akatsuki, some more reluctant than others, charged at Zeotora. Though, they weren't much of a fight since she had already activated the Lion Demon's power as well as Orochimaru, Dinto and Kabuto helping her fight.

_Time, sometimes the time just slips away  
__And you're left with yesterday, left with the memories  
__I, I'll always think of you and smile and be happy for the time  
__I had you with me  
__Though we go our separate ways  
__I won't forget, so don't forget  
__The memories we made  
__Please remember, please remember  
__I was there for you and you were there for me  
__Please remember, our time together  
__The time was yours and mine while we were wild and free  
__Please remember, please remember  
__Me..._

After what seemed like ages, Kakuzu fell to the floor, all of his hearts no longer beating. Hidan was (literally) in pieces, Zeotora used a fire style jutsu to set the many pieces alight, slowly burning the Jashinist to ashes. The ashes crumbled away into the dust which blew past the massacre-like scene as to which had taken place in this battle between Zeotora and her once best friends.

_Goodbye, there's just no sadder word to say  
__And it's sad to walk away, with just the memories  
__Who's to know what might have been  
__We'll leave behind a life and time I'll never know again  
__Please remember, please remember  
__I was there for you and you were there for me  
__And remember, please remember  
__Me..._

Zeotora dusted herself off and bowed before her master, Orochimaru. The infamous Akatsuki were no longer in existence.

"Very good Zeotora, you have earned your reward," Orochimaru smirked and stepped to the side, letting Dinto walk over to the Kunoichi. The handsome boy lifted Zeotora's chin slightly and brought his lips against hers, Zeotora could have died right there and gone straight to heaven, this was all she ever wanted and she was willing to give anything and everything for that one kiss. Dinto slid his tongue into Zeotora's mouth and gently brushed against the younger girl's own tongue.

This, right here, was everything Zeotora dreamed about, for as long as she could remember, all she ever wanted was this very moment.

Then why did she feel so empty?

Why could she hardly feel Dinto's warmth?

Why did her heart all of a sudden change its mind and say that this was wrong?

Why? Why did she not want this as much as she thought she did?

I'll tell you why...

All Zeotora could think about was Dinto kissing Mimi in the exact same, perfect way all the time. The very thought made Zeotora's blood run cold, she was willing to give up her BEST friends for HIM? He clearly wasn't worth it. She knew that as soon as they got back to the lair, Dinto and Mimi would be all over each other and all Zeotora could do... was watch.

Zeotora was so lost in thought that she could hardly tell the difference when the green eyed boy pulled away. He then turned to face his master, "So, can we go back now?"

"Of course," Orochimaru then disappeared in a puff of smoke, soon followed by Dinto.

"C'mon, Zeo," Kabuto waited for Zeotora as she turned and searched through the remains of her friends.

"One sec," The girl knelt down and lifted Hidan's pendant, Deidara's eye-scope, Kakuzu's mask, Konan's paper flower and Kisame's sword, along with every members' cloaks and rings, "I just want them as a kind of reward for killing off the whole Akatsuki," Kabuto nodded then disappeared into thin air, Zeotora following behind him.

_Then remember, please remember me...  
__And how we laugh and how we smile  
__And how this world was yours and mine  
__And how a dream was out of reach  
__I stood by you, you stood by me  
__We took each day and made it shine  
__We wrote ours names across the sky  
__We ride so fast, we ride so free  
__I had you, you had me  
__Please remember...  
__Please remember me..._

Zeotora walked out of the bathroom, the blood completely washed out of her hair, and her eyes still slightly brown, but more on the red side. The blonde sighed as she walked back to her old room, a painful tone in her voice as she though out loud in bitter coldness, " Why are all my decisions always the wrong ones?"

*~To be continued~*

_**A/N**_

_**Oh no! The Akatsuki are all dead!**_

_**I'm not even joking! The next chapter is a couple of years later, so just go back and read chapter 2 again, then come back and read chapter 20, because then it will make more sense. Also, if you pay attention to some minor details in chapter 2 'Not So Distant Future' you will find that some things make sense, e.g. the scars on Zeotora's arms (Kakuzu's stitches) The Jashinist Pendant (Hidan's pendant) etc.**_

_**So yeah, that's the big dramatic moment everyone's all been waiting for XP**_

_**PS - The song is called Please remember by Leann Rimes , I was planning on using this song earlier on, when Zeotora couldn't remember anything but I thought it would fit more here.**_

_**Anyway, please review and yes, there is going to be a chapter 20 XP**_

_**Laterz **_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


	20. Final Destination

_**Author's Notes**_

_**Hi people!**_

_**A special thanks to my reviewers...**_

_**10 tailed demon cat dei lover**_

_**Niamh. Rox. 101**_

_**LakunaWolf**_

_**Akatsuki4Ever303**_

_**xxyangxx2006**_

_**DarkNess of Uchia**_

_**silverlit**_

_**Thanks everyone! I must admit that this is ALOT less reviewers than Unexpected Bonds.. hmm... oh well! I'm still so happy!**_

_**Anyway, as I said, this is a couple of years later, 4 years to be exact! So, now Zeotora is roughly 23 and she works for Orochimaru, if you haven't gone back to read chapter 2, go back and read it now! Because I'm too lazy to retype it all up again XP**_

_**Ok, I'm gonna continue from the point when Zeotora is singing, enjoy!**_

**Chapter 20 - Final Destination**

"_Little girl terrified, she'd leave her room if only bruises would heal  
__A home is no place to hide, her heart is breaking from the pain that she feels  
__Everyday's the same, she fights to find her way  
__She hurts, she breaks, she hides and tries to pray  
__She wonders why, does anyone ever hear her when she cries?"_

Zeotora sang, as Orochimaru sat in silence listening to the sweet voice of his most prized possession, the only one who doesn't let emotions get in the way of her mission. Orochimaru loved Zeotora's voice, it was probably one of the reasons he actually wanted Zeotora to work for him. Zeotora's voice was going to break any day now, she had been ordered to sing every time she wasn't busy. And recently Orochimaru had got someone else to fill in with her missions just so Zeotora could sing to him.

Maybe it was a comfort thing. Zeotora didn't know, but what she did know was that her voice wasn't going to last much longer.

For some reason, all Zeotora could think about was that one day. The day that the Akatsuki was completely destroyed.

"_Today she's turning sixteen  
__Everyone's singing but she can't seem to smile  
__They never get past arms length  
__How can they act like everything is alright  
__Pulling down her long sleeves  
__To cover all the memories that scars leave  
__She says, maybe making me bleed  
__Will be the answer that could wash the slate clean"_

"Oi Zeotora! Are you gonna come get your food or what?"

Zeotora sighed, Dinto always shouted. Everything eh did would end up in shouting.

"You may go Zeotora, wouldn't want you to starve," The glint in the snake's eyes practically told the girl that he knew about the 'snack' Zeotora had on her mission.

"Thank you, Master," With a bow of false respect and a quiet exit, Zeotora left and headed for the kitchen where her food was waiting for her. The Kunoichi walked solemnly down the halls, knowing every inch of the lair like the back of her hand.

"P..please don't h..hurt me..."

Zeotora heard a frightened voice as she arrived just outside the door, She took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet smell of fear. Suddenly, the door opened, "C'mon Zeotora, you don't want your food to get cold, now do you?" Dinto smirked and turned to eye the slightly plump boy who appeared to be about the age of 7 years old, "Sorry, but that was the best I could find,"

The girl looked at the young boy with judging eyes, "Y'know, Orochimaru is the only one who likes little boys..." Zeotora turned and went to leave, "I'm not hungry anyway,"

"Hey! It took me ages to find lunch for you! And you just turn round and say that you're not hungry! You picky bitch!"

"Shut your trap Dinto! I didn't ask you to get my food for me! So, stop complaining!" Zeotora glared at Dinto with red eyes.

"Yeah, well Orochimaru is always nagging me to keep you from starving! He doesn't even give me a break when you snack on the poor suckers that he tells you to kill! I spend my valuable time doing this for you, so you better eat it or to hell with you!"

Zeotora went to say something but then leaned back slightly and closed her eyes softly, before letting out a slight chuckle.

"What the hell?" Dinto raised an eyebrow as Zeotora let out a slightly louder laugh, "What the hell do you think you're laughing at?" The girl laughed more, her eyes still closed and a wide grin on her face. The laugh gradually becoming more crazed and wild, "Uhhh... Zeotora? What th-" Dinto stared, completely puzzled. He was really confused as to why Zeotora was suddenly laughing.

"You idiot! What did you do?" Kabuto rushed in and pushed Dinto back, "Zeo! Zeotora!"

The Kunoichi continued to laugh as Kabuto tried to snap her back into reality.

2I didn't do anything!" Dinto said worriedly as Zeotora's laugh escalated to a crazed, hysteric state.

"What's going on?"

Everyone, apart from Zeotora, silenced. Orochimaru looked at Kabuto, waiting for an answer.

"I think Zeotora's having an episode again," Kabuto said in a panicked voice, he gently guided Zeotora to sit down. Ever since she had become entirely possessed by the tailed beast, she kept having these random episodes where she would become entirely consumed into a world of hysteric laughing and random outbursts of what was really on her mind. Zeotora would always end up saying something that would get her in deep trouble, that's why she always keeps her thoughts to herself, but every time the girl had an episode, she would blurt it all out.

"You know what?" Zeotora mumbled as she looked up at Dinto, her eyes flashing back and forth between blue and red, "I always loved you..." She laughed crazily once more, "But I can't believe how blind I was for thinking about you in that way.. 'cause you're just a stupid kid, flirting with everyone and acting all tough.. but I know a secret..." Zeotora threw her head back and laughed more as her canine teeth grew larger in size, "You're afraid of the dark! I mean, what kind of ninja is afraid of the dark?"

"Zeotora.. calm down..." Kabuto tried to stop his sister from talking before she started spilling out thoughts that should be kept to herself.

"No you calm down! You're an annoying four-eyed freak, why should I listen to you?" Kabuto sighed and shook his head slowly, now was about the time when she started spilling insults, "And Orochimaru... what the hell is your problem?"

"Huh?" The three men said in unison.

"Do you find it fun to kidnap little boys and rape them...I mean I'm an exception but c'mon! Kabuto, Sasuke, Dinto, Kimimaro.. what the hell? half of them aren't even good looking!" Zeotora frowned slightly, then started talking again, "And Dinto... you are such a whiny bitch sometimes.. I mean, not even Deidara used to complain as much as you..." Zeotora's eyes widened for a second, she then smiled softly then started laughing again, "Dinto, I killed a girl on my last mission and she had your eyes... I probably only killed her 'cause she reminded me of you..."

"Zeotora shut up!" Kabuto held his hand over Zeotora's mouth, if she said anything more, she would probably have gotten herself killed. Suddenly, Kabuto felt Zeotora's teeth dig into his hand and rip straight through his skin and flesh, "AH!" Kabuto pulled his hand away from Zeotora, his hand ripped from the girl's teeth, a huge chunk now missing from his palm.

"That's enough!" Orochimaru said firmly as he grabbed Zeotora by her upper arm, " Sasuke! Juugo!" As called, Sasuke and Juugo appeared in the doorway, "Take Zeotora to her room," The two boys grabbed the girl and forcefully lead her down the hallway to her room.

"You know I always hated you..." Zeotora mumbled to Sasuke, "But I always liked you better," She turned and smiled at Juugo.

"Yeah, whatever," Sasuke pushed open the girl's bedroom door and shoved her inside, locking the door as they left. Zeotora sighed and walked over to her desk, she kneeled down and looked through her CDs. After picking out her favourite song, Zeotora turned on her stereo and put in the disk, playing the song loudly to block out the world.

The girl walked over to her wardrobe and ran her hands over the nine cloaks hung up in their own separate section of the large wardrobe. They were all still in perfect condition and in order from smallest to largest, Zeotora really had nothing much to do these days, so she spent all her time going through her keepsakes.

In the bottom of the dark brown wardrobe, Zeotora kept a rather large box, she opened the lid and looked inside. There was a number of smaller boxes and tissue paper to keep everything safe. She lifted up one of the boxes and opened it, observing the red ring with the symbol for 'scarlet' on it, the ring was in perfect condition along with all the others.

Zeotora pulled the box onto her bed and grabbed a cloth, she then lifted out Deidara's eye-scope and started to polish it gently.

_You wait for a silence, I wait for a word  
__Lie next to your frame, girl unobserved  
__You change your position and you're changing me  
__Casting these shadows where they shouldn't be  
__We're interrupted, by the heat of the sun  
__Trying to prevent what's already begun  
__You're just a body, I can smell your skin  
__And when I feel it, you're wearing thin  
_

_But I've got a plan  
__Why don't you be the artist and make me out of clay  
__Why don't you be the writer and decide the words I say  
__Because I'd rather pretend I'll still be there in the end  
__Only it's too hard to ask, won't you try to help me_

A smile formed on Zeotora's face as she listened to the chorus, a slight giggle passed her lips at how ironic the lyrics girl finished polishing and set the scope back into the box in its place, surrounded by tissue paper, to keep it from getting damaged in any way. Zeotora then pulled out Kakuzu's mask and ran her fingers over the fabric, it had been too long since she had seen the mask on Kakuzu's tanned face, along side his amazing eyes. So many memories were stashed away in this one box, and yet she couldn't find any words to say.

Zeotora suddenly felt a strange urge pass through her body, she couldn't resist it. She couldn't wait, she was going to go now, screw what anyone else says.

The girl grabbed the cloaks and folded them up, setting them into the box and putting the lid back on. The box was slid back into the wardrobe and the door closed over. Zeotora turned the music up slightly and slowly opened the window, she climbed out quietly and carefully closed the window behind her. As Zeotora walked through the dark she could just about hear the music coming from her room. You see, Orochimaru had designated a certain part of the lair especially for Zeotora, so she could have her music on and do whatever the hell she wants to. So no one really cared how loud her music was.

The Kunoichi looked around to see if anyone had noticed her leave, she confirmed that the coast was clear before taking a turn to the left and then she opened a secret passage way underground.

"This is so boring..."

Zeotora heard a familiar voice say as she slowly travelled deeper under ground.

"Yeah, well would you rather be bored or dead?"

"Fair enough..."

"Hey... do you hear footsteps?"

The girl turned a corner and saw a fire burning and a group of people sat around with bored expressions on their faces.

"Zeotora?"

"Who else, dumbass," Zeotora smiled lightly as she walked over to the group, "You didn't think I forgot about you, did ya?"

"Course not," A brunette with green and red eyes walked over and smiled at the Kunoichi, "I have to admit it's been a long though,"

"Yeah, four years is a long time," Zeotora grinned, "You haven't changed a bit, Zuzu,"

"Well, I wish I could say the same to you," Kakuzu gestured for Zeotora to sit by the fire with everyone else, the girl complied and sat down.

"Hey, Hidan! Get your ass over here!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Hidan casually walked from a different part of the underground system and smiled as he saw his old friend, "Well, this is unexpected..."

"Good to see you to, Slick,"

"So, anything new since we've been down here?" All the Akatsuki had gathered together around Zeotora, but Pein was the one who spoke out.

"Well, I've come up with something that will pass the time a bit, and cure your boredom," Zeotora pulled out a scroll and handed it to Pein, he opened the scroll and read over it, everyone else leaning over him to try and see as well.

"But..." Pein looked up at Zeotora, "This is details of a mission... a mission to-" Pein's eyes widened and everyone stared at Zeotora. The evil smirk on her face, growing deviously excited.

Zeotora spoke calmly, and seriously, though the longing, obvious in her voice, "A mission to assassinate Orochimaru, Dinto and Kabuto..."

*~The End~*

_**A/N**_

_**Yep, The End XP**_

_**That's the end of Unexpected Curses! And just to let you know, the Akatsuki weren't dead after all YAY!**_

_**Heehee... I'm so evil!**_

_**All the tension! The drama! The sadness! The build up! The ending! MWUAHAHAHA**_

_**Sorry... got a bit carried away there...**_

_**Anyway...**_

_**Orochimaru: "How dare you make Zeotora say that about me!"**_

_**-.- Shut up Orochimaru... remember what happened last time you decided to show up in the Author's Notes...**_

_**Orochimaru: -.- "I'll be going now..." *leaves***_

_**Yeah, you better leave! *kicks Orochimaru in the butt* XP**_

_**Well, the song was called The Writer by Ellie Goulding, I love that song, I always think of Deidara when I hear it...**_

_**Anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviewed and I can't wait to see all the reviews I will get for ending like this XP**_

_**See ya in one of my other books! Bye! *waves***_

_**xoxoxChelly. Go. Luckyxoxox**_


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